Biden, Qatari emir speak as Gaza cease-fire negotiations hit ‘critical point'

WASHINGTON

US President Joe Biden discussed with Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Monday ongoing efforts in Doha to secure an agreement to end hostilities in the besieged Gaza Strip during what the White House described as a "critical point in the negotiations."

During the telephone call, Biden "thanked the Amir for his leadership and praised the mediating role of Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani throughout the process," the White House said in a statement.

"Both leaders emphasized the urgent need for a deal to be implemented to return the hostages to their families and bring immediate relief to the people of Gaza through a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by the ceasefire and called for in the deal," it added.

Shortly after the White House issued its statement, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters that negotiators are "close to a deal, and it can get done this week."

"I cannot predict to you it will. I cannot promise you it will. And you know, if in five days it hasn't happened, I will be the person who is probably least shocked by that, but I think there's a good chance we can close this," he said. "And I think because of that good chance, we have to use every ounce of our diplomatic effort to try to get it across the finish line, because that will be good for everyone, and it's also profoundly in the national interest of this country."

Sullivan said the Biden administration is "coordinating closely" with President-elect Donald Trump's team "to make maximum use of this particular period to get this thing done."

Prisoner swap and cease-fire talks, mediated by Qatar, Egypt, and the US, have been repeatedly derailed due to new conditions imposed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Israeli opposition and families of captives accuse Netanyahu of obstructing efforts to reach a Gaza cease-fire and prisoner exchange deal with Hamas.

Israel's indiscriminate campaign on Gaza has killed nearly 46,600 people, most of them women and children, since the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023 cross-border attack on Israel that killed an estimated 1,200 people. Israel has continued its war in defiance of a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in November for Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.