Biden: ‘Real progress’ being made in hostage talks, but Hamas ‘in the way’ of a deal

US President Joe Biden says he thinks his administration will be able to secure a hostage deal, even though Hamas is currently the obstacle to an agreement.

As is often the case, a question about Israel is among the first to be shouted by the White House press corps as Biden wraps up a briefing on a completely different topic — the wildfires devastating Los Angeles.

Asked to provide an update on the hostage talks, Biden is cautious to get into detail but says, “We’re making some real progress,” adding that he spoke with US negotiators earlier Thursday.

He then switches topics to the Lebanese parliament’s election of military chief Joseph Aoun to be Lebanon’s president. Biden calls him a “first-rate guy” and says he heard from the general of his plans to ensure that the Lebanese military is “accountable to the Lebanese people — not Hamas, not Hezbollah, not any other group.”

To date, successive Lebanese governments have had a difficult time maintaining independence from the Iran-backed terror group, which has enjoyed veto power over much of the country’s decision-making. With Hezbollah significantly weakened due to an intensified military campaign by Israel late last year, the parliament was able to move forward with today’s vote. While the US publicly refrained from backing any candidate, it privately lobbied for Aoun, according to an official familiar with the matter.

Biden then shifts back to the hostage talks. “I know hope springs eternal, but I’m still hopeful that we’ll be able to have a prisoner exchange.”

“Hamas is the one getting in the way of that exchange right now, but I think we may be able to get that done. We need to get it done,” he says.

For over a year, the White House has blamed Hamas for the lack of ceasefire in Gaza.

While Egyptian and Qatari diplomats along with some members of Israel’s negotiating team and even several US officials have told The Times of Israel that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to agree to anything more than a temporary ceasefire has been the main obstacle, Washington has refrained from voicing that belief publicly.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested in a New York Times interview last week that US pressure on Israel has led Hamas to harden its positions.