Biden and Netanyahu talk as hostage deal effort narrows
President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday as U.S. officials raced to close a Gaza hostage and cease-fire agreement before Biden leaves office on January 20. The conversation, confirmed by the White House, centered on efforts to halt the fighting in Gaza and secure the release of the remaining hostages.
Netanyahu said in a statement that he updated Biden on progress and on the mandate he had given his top security delegation in Doha. That detail matters because the indirect talks in Qatar have become the main channel for progress, and the leaders’ call came at a moment when U.S. officials were signaling that the negotiations had moved very close to a deal without yet crossing the finish line.
Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, told CNN’s State of the Union that the parties were “very, very close” but still had work to do. He said the administration was trying to use every remaining day in office to secure an agreement and stressed that the effort was not being set aside. Sullivan also left open the possibility of failure, saying Hamas, in particular, could still remain intransigent.
The human stakes were described in stark terms. The USA Today report said 98 hostages were still held in Gaza, while Israeli and Palestinian accounts have described a war that has killed more than 46,000 people in Gaza and displaced most of its population. The war began after Hamas fighters crossed into Israel in October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Vice President-elect JD Vance also said in a taped interview that he expected a deal for U.S. hostages to be announced in the final days of the Biden administration, perhaps within a day or two. The comments added to the sense that a negotiated breakthrough was possible but not assured.
For Biden, the timing is politically important as well as humanitarian. His administration is trying to leave office with a visible diplomatic achievement in one of the most consequential wars of the year. For Netanyahu, any deal has to satisfy coalition politics at home while meeting Israel’s stated goal of bringing captives home and maintaining military pressure on Hamas.
The discussion underscores how tightly linked the hostage issue and the cease-fire talks remain. Even if negotiators reach a framework, the implementation details will determine whether the agreement can hold. The White House call showed that the final stretch is now being handled at the highest levels, but the outcome still depends on what the parties are willing to sign off on in Doha.
