Netanyahu, Biden to mull possibility of progress on deal with Hamas

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to speak by phone with US President Joe Biden today after Hamas sent Israel a response to the latest proposal for a hostage deal, an official in the Prime Minister’s Office told The Times of Israel.

Netanyahu will lead a cabinet meeting at 8 p.m. tonight to come to a decision on Hamas’s response.

Citing a senior Israeli official, Channel 12 says that Hamas has withdrawn its demand for guarantees that Israel would end the war and withdraw entirely from Gaza in order for it to even agree to the first stage of the deal.

"It is possible to bring back the observation soldiers, the women, the children, the injured, the sick, the elderly,” says the official. "And there is an off-ramp to return to the fighting if Hamas violates the terms of the agreement. There is the foundation for a good deal.”

The official brings up the possibility that Hamas will introduce roadblocks during the talks: "It won’t be easy. There is a long way.”





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