US President Joe Biden on Thursday posted to social media site X and commented on his conversation with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Earlier I spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss ongoing efforts to finalize a deal that would result in a ceasefire together with the release of hostages – a deal that I have outlined and is endorsed by the UN Security Council, the G7, and countries around the world,” wrote Biden.
Netanyahu’s office said in a statement following Thursday’s conversation that Netanyahu congratulated Biden and the American people on the occasion of US Independence Day.
“The Prime Minister said that without the US there would be no freedom in the world. President Biden said that without Israel there would be no security for Jews in the world,” the statement said.
It also added that Netanyahu “updated President Biden on his decision to send a delegation to continue the hostage negotiations and reiterated the principles that Israel is committed to, especially its commitment to end the war only after all of its goals have been achieved.”
The White House issued a statement of its own after the conversation, saying among other things, "President Biden and the Prime Minister discussed ongoing efforts to finalize a ceasefire deal together with the release of hostages, as outlined by President Biden and endorsed by the UN Security Council, the G7, and countries around the world.”
"The leaders discussed the recent response received from Hamas. The President welcomed the Prime Minister’s decision to authorize his negotiators to engage with US, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators in an effort to close out the deal,” added the White House.
The conversation came a day after the Prime Minister's Office, on behalf of the Mossad, announced that the mediators have conveyed to the negotiating team Hamas' remarks on the outline of the hostage deal.
"Israel is evaluating the remarks and will convey its reply to the mediators," the statement said.
Hamas later confirmed it has sent new "ideas" to Qatari mediators aimed at ending the war in Gaza and said it is viewing the ongoing talks in a "positive spirit."
Biden two months ago outlined a three-phase process for a ceasefire and hostage release deal.
The first phase of Biden’s three-phase process, which he outlined in a speech last month, would last for six weeks and would include a full and complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza, and the release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian Arab prisoners.
Phase two would see the release of all remaining living hostages, while phase three would encompass "a major reconstruction plan for Gaza," as well as the repatriation of the remains of deceased hostages to their families.
Hamas later gave its official response to Biden’s proposal, with a senior Israeli official saying the terrorist organization rejected Biden’s proposal.
The terrorist organization then claimed that it was Netanyahu who was opposed to Biden’s proposal, citing comments made by Netanyahu in an interview with Channel 14, in which he said that he is prepared to advance such a deal, but not at the cost of stopping the war.