Netanyahu, Biden to meet on elusive Gaza deal

WASHINGTON: Joe Biden will press Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday to seal a Gaza ceasefire deal, despite the US president’s shock election exit threatening to limit his leverage over the Israeli premier.

Netanyahu will also meet Vice President Kamala Harris — the likely new Democratic presidential nominee — at the White House on Thursday, one day after he gave a speech to the US Congress vowing “total victory” against Hamas.

Relations between Biden and Netanyahu are tense over Israel’s conduct in the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attacks, despite the US president’s continued military and political support for Washington’s key Middle East ally.

Biden says he wants to secure a truce and hostage release deal in his last six months in office, Netanyahu may be tempted to wait until after his lame duck presidency and negotiate with his successor instead.

As part of his first White House visit during Biden’s presidency, Netanyahu will hold talks with the US leader in the Oval Office at 1:00 pm (1700 GMT), and both will later meet the families of US hostages held in Gaza.

The Israeli military announced on Thursday the recovery of the bodies of five people held in Gaza since the October 7 attack, in an operation in the city of Khan Yunis.