US President Biden to meet Netanyahu; discuss Gaza conflict, hostage deal: White House

Washington DC [US], July 25 : US President Joe Biden will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today and discuss the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the hostage deal with Hamas, the White House said on Thursday.
Biden and Netanyahu will also hold talks with the families of some of the hostages in Hamas captivity.
"Today, President Biden sits down with Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel to talk about all things in the Middle East, particularly, of course, the conflict in Gaza," White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby said in a statement.
Kirby affirmed that it is "absolutely urgent" to get the hostages back home to their families.
"Chief among the issues on their agenda will be discussions about hostage deal, that is still being negotiated. We believe we are close, we believe gaps can be narrowed. We believe it is absolutely urgent to get the hostages back home, with the families where they belong, get a ceasefire in place, so that we work for a ceasefire of hostilities there in Gaza," the White House official said.
"After that meeting, both the President and the Prime Minister will have a chance to talk to the families of some of those hostages, and make sure that he reaffirms for them, how committed and this administration is to getting their loved ones back home, where they belong, and also, again, getting a ceasefire in place," he added.
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is currently on a visit to the United States. This visit has come at a contentious time, when Israel is engaged in a massive conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, where over 39,000 Palestinians have been killed. This has drawn severe criticism of the US administration from some leaders and sections of society.
More than 30 members of Congress did not attend Netanyahu's address, in protest of the Israeli Prime Minister's approach to the Israel-Hamas war.
As Netanyahu addressed the joint session of US Congress on Wednesday, over 5,000 protesters massed on the streets near Capitol Hill, waving Palestinian flags and chanting for United States to stop arming Israel.
Some groups of demonstrators attempted to barricade Netanyahu's potential routes to the Capitol, with one group handing out an effigy of the prime minister in handcuffs and the other group even burning the American flag.
During his address, the Israeli PM urged the American leaders to provide bipartisan support to the war-ridden country amid its ongoing conflict with Hamas in Gaza.