Biden ‘stressed the immediate need’ for hostage-ceasefire deal in call with Netanyahu — White House

US President Joe Biden “stressed the immediate need” for a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas during his call earlier today with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House says.

During the call, the two leaders discussed the ongoing hostage talks, which the White House says are based on the Israeli proposal from May of last year, which envisioned a phased release of the hostages.

The ceasefire that US, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators are trying to advance is indeed still within the three-staged framework, but Israel in this round of talks has been much more open about the second and third phases not coming immediately after the first one, Arab diplomats familiar with the talks have told The Times of Israel

Hamas is demanding assurances from the mediators that there will be some connection between the first and subsequent phases, as it seeks a permanent ceasefire. This issue remains a point of significant contention in the talks, the diplomats said

Biden during the call “discussed the fundamentally changed regional circumstances following the ceasefire deal in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and the weakening of Iran’s power in the region,” the US readout notes.

Netanyahu thanked Biden for his “lifelong support of Israel and for the extraordinary support from the United States for Israel’s security and national defense,” the US readout adds. The readout from Netanyahu’s office noted that the prime minister also thanked US President-elect Donald Trump for his own efforts in advancing the “sacred mission” of releasing the hostages.