Netanyahu and Biden
Netanyahu and BidenAmos Ben Gershom/GPO

With just eight days left in office, US President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday about the progression of the deal to free the hostages from Hamas captivity.

The Prime Minister's Office noted that Netanyahu updated the President on the mandate he gave to the negotiating team to Doha in order to advance the release of our hostages.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu thanked President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump for cooperating in this sacred mission," the PMO added.

The White House added that President Biden discussed the fundamentally changed regional circumstances following the ceasefire deal in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and the weakening of Iran’s power in the region.

He stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and the return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal.

In an interview aired by CNN earlier in the day, Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan expressed cautious optimism regarding the chances of a deal being signed before he and his boss leave office. "Can we get it done before the 20th? It is possible, but I certainly can't make any predictions," Sullivan.

Sullivan's incoming replacement, Rep. Mike Waltz shared a similar sentiment: "Hamas is completely isolated. They always expected that kind of cavalry to come from the north and Hezbollah, which has now been decimated and destroyed. We just had a huge, positive movement with the election of General Aoun in Lebanon. So, Hamas has nowhere else to go but to enter into some type of agreement. Let's allow our hostages to be set free. I want to see them walking across the tarmac or at a minimum some type of agreement before inauguration because President Trump is serious."

Echoing Trump's threats, he noted: "Any deal will only get worse for Hamas. And there will be all hell to pay in the Middle East if we continue to have this kind of hostage diplomacy."

He added: "I don't think it's fully realized that these hostages will have been in those tunnels being abused, molested, raped, in the most awful conditions, longer now than our hostages were held in 1979 in Iran. It's just unacceptable. And there are going to be consequences for those who think they can take an American. There is going to – no longer be any upside for anyone who harms Americans abroad."