Netanyahu and Biden discuss progress in Gaza ceasefire-for-hostages deal talks

By Lauren Izso, Hira Humayun and Nikki Carvajal, CNN

(CNN) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has spoken with US President Joe Biden about the progress in negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire-hostage deal.

“The prime minister discussed with the American president the progress in the negotiations to release our hostages and updated him on the mandate he gave to the negotiating team to Doha in order to advance the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu’s office said in a statement about the call on Sunday.

It added, “the prime minister wanted to thank the American President (Joe) Biden and the incoming President Donald Trump for their cooperation for the holy mission.”

The White House said Biden and Netanyahu discussed the negotiations in Doha, based on the proposal the US president laid out in May. Biden once again called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the return of the hostages and increased humanitarian aid to the enclave.

Biden also spoke to Netanyahu about the “fundamentally changed regional circumstances” following the ceasefire in Lebanon in November last year, the collapse of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime the following month, and Iran’s weakened position in the region, the White House said.

This is the first publicly announced call between the two men since October 2024, and it comes as Netanyahu summoned two major critics of Biden’s ceasefire deal proposal to meetings to discuss a potential deal.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir have previously rejected a peace proposal laid out by Biden in May of last year, which would pair a release of hostages with a “full and complete ceasefire.” Both ministers rejected the idea of an immediate ceasefire and have called for fighting to continue until Hamas is destroyed and all hostages are returned.

The far-right ministers have previously threatened to resign and topple Netanyahu’s governing coalition if he accepted Biden’s proposal.

The meetings with the Israeli cabinet members on Sunday come as Israeli negotiators have expressed “cautious optimism” at the talks ongoing in Doha this weekend, which involve a high-level Israeli delegation including Mossad chief David Barnea.

Netanyahu under pressure

Netanyahu, who met with Trump’s incoming Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, on Saturday, is facing pressure from both the current and incoming US administrations to reach a deal.

Last week, Witkoff touted progress made at the Doha talks and expressed optimism about making gains by the time of Trump’s inauguration on January 20, though a senior administration official said talks remained difficult.

Trump himself has said there would be “hell to pay” in the Middle East if the hostages are not released by the time he is sworn into office. His incoming national security adviser, Mike Waltz told ABC on Sunday said he wants to see some type of agreement before inauguration.

“I want to see (the hostages) walking across the tarmac, or at a minimum, some type of agreement before the inauguration because President Trump is serious,” Waltz said.

Waltz also said Hamas was “completely isolated” and has “to enter into some type of agreement.”

The Biden administration said earlier Sunday it was still working toward securing a hostage deal before the president leaves office.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday that while reaching a deal by January 20 is “possible,” he “cannot make any predictions.”

“We are very, very close, and yet being very close still means we’re far, because until you actually get across the finish line, we’re not there,” Sullivan said on “State of the Union.”

Sullivan said White House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk is still in Doha, “hammering out with the mediators the final details of a text to be presented to both sides.”

In a December interview with CBS that aired Sunday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that when an agreement is reached, it will be “on the basis of what President Biden put forward.”

Meanwhile those close to the Israeli prime minister have stressed his commitment to securing a deal. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar emphasized Israel’s aim to secure a hostage deal as he welcomed his British counterpart to Jerusalem on Sunday. And Netanyahu spokesperson Omer Dostri told Israeli outlet Channel 14 that the government was making “every effort” to reach a deal but there had been “slow progress.”

“In the end, it depends on Hamas,” he said on Sunday, pushing back against critics who have claimed Netanyahu didn’t want a deal.

“I am in various discussions and I can tell you the prime minister works on this 24-seven, holds discussions into the night, conversations with leaders,” he said.

“When I hear all kinds of sources saying that the prime minister does not want to return our hostages home, I tell you, this tears me apart. The prime minister wants a deal.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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CNN’s Gregory Clary and MJ Lee contributed to this report.