Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Friday, August 16, 2024
From the Liveblog of
Friday, August 16, 2024
Netanyahu’s office: Israel hopes mediators’ pressure on Hamas will lead to a deal
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a meeting with US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, July 25, 2024. (Jim Watson/AFP)
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office issues a statement expressing appreciation for the efforts of the US and other mediators to try and convince Hamas to accept a hostage deal.
“Israel’s fundamental principles are well known to the mediators and the US, and Israel hopes that their pressure will lead Hamas to accept the May 27 principles, so that the details of the agreement can be implemented,” the PMO’s statement adds, referring to the hostage deal proposal Israel made in late May.
Netanyahu has been roundly accused of adding new demands to that proposal last month, but he has insisted that he merely provided clarifications to help with the implementation of the May proposal.
