On Wednesday, August 21, US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a phone call to discuss the urgency of achieving a ceasefire in Gaza and reaching an agreement on the release of hostages.
The White House stated that Biden and Netanyahu discussed the “active and ongoing efforts by the United States to support Israel in countering all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist organizations Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthi armed groups, which includes defensive military deployments by the United States.”
During the call, President Biden emphasized the urgency of reaching a ceasefire and a hostage release agreement, as well as discussing the upcoming talks in Cairo to eliminate any remaining obstacles.
Reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza has become a top priority for the Biden administration. A statement released earlier this month by the White House emphasized the importance of continued efforts to ease the broader tensions in the region.
Iran has vowed to retaliate for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31 and has blamed Israel for the incident. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in the assassination.
In order to stabilize the situation in the Middle East, the US Department of Defense has ordered the deployment of a missile submarine in the region and directed the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to expedite its deployment in the area to enhance Israel’s defense capabilities.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken concluded a whirlwind visit to the Middle East on Tuesday, August 20. This marked Blinken’s ninth trip to the region since the conflict in Gaza began on October 7 last year to broker a ceasefire. However, Israel and Hamas militants have yet to reach an agreement on a Gaza ceasefire.
During a press conference held in Tel Aviv, Israel on Monday, Blinken stated that Israel had accepted a proposal to bridge the gaps hindering the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release and urged Hamas to do the same. However, he did not disclose the specifics of the proposal.
Blinken also did not reveal whether the proposal addressed Israel’s previous demand to control two strategic corridors within Gaza (a demand Hamas has deemed unacceptable) or other long-standing issues that have hindered negotiations.
According to a US official speaking on condition of anonymity to Reuters, Biden is vacationing on an 8,000-acre ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley, California, and it is expected that he will pressure Netanyahu to soften Israel’s new demand, which involves allowing Israeli troops to be stationed along the land corridor between Egypt and Gaza.
Netanyahu’s office denied a report from Israeli television on Wednesday, August 21, that Israel had agreed to withdraw troops from the border of the Philadelphi Corridor – the boundary between Egypt and Gaza.
Amid ten months of ceasefire negotiations, Hamas seeks a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, including the Philadelphi Corridor. Israel, after destroying dozens of tunnels beneath the corridor, aims to retain control over it.
On May 31 this year, Biden proposed a three-phase plan to end the Gaza war, including a comprehensive ceasefire, the release of hostages held by Hamas, and the reconstruction of Gaza. Since then, Washington and regional mediators have been striving to advance a Gaza ceasefire in exchange for hostage agreement, but negotiations have repeatedly stalled.
Negotiators hope to reach a ceasefire agreement soon to prevent a larger-scale war from erupting in the Middle East. A new round of talks is scheduled to take place in the near future in the Egyptian capital Cairo.
(This article references reports from Reuters and the Associated Press)