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Wednesday, August 21, 2024
White House: Biden stressed ‘urgency’ of finalizing hostage-ceasefire deal in call with Netanyahu
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US President Joe Biden “stressed the urgency of bringing the ceasefire and hostage release deal to closure and discussed upcoming talks in Cairo to remove any remaining obstacles” in his call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier today, the White House says.
The two leaders also “discussed active and ongoing US efforts to support Israel’s defense against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis, to include ongoing defensive US military deployments,” the brief US readout adds.