President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sat down for a closely-watched meeting in the Oval Office on Thursday as the U.S. pushes for an end to the war in Gaza.
The meeting marks the first time the pair have seen one another face-to-face since Biden traveled to Tel Aviv and embraced Netanyahu less than two weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel that left about 1,200 dead and sparked the now nine-month-old war.
This time, the White House meeting came during significantly different circumstances after months of tensions between the leaders as Israel’s retaliatory campaign in Gaza trekked on and following Biden’s decision just days ago to drop his bid for a second term and endorse his vice president, Kamala Harris.
Less than 24 hours before the pair’s meeting, Biden used the same room to address the American public about his decision to end his more than 50 years as an elected official.
In brief remarks to the press at the top of their meeting in the Oval Office, Netanyahu thanked Biden for “50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the state of Israel.”
“We’ve known each other for 40 years and you’ve known every Israeli prime minister for 50 years,” Netanyahu said to the president, adding that he was thanking Biden “as a proud Jewish Zionist to a proud Irish American Zionist.”
Biden said little during the brief press portion of the meeting. During his address to the nation Wednesday night he cited ending the war in Gaza as a top issue he wanted to address over his last five months in office.
Two weeks ago, Biden said both Israel and Hamas had agreed to the framework of a multi-stage proposal he laid out in May that aims to ultimately facilitate an end to fighting in Gaza. Ahead of their meeting on Thursday, a senior administration official told reporters on a call that negotiations on the plan were in the “closing stages” but cautioned that there are some “very serious implementation issues that still have to be resolved.”
White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said during Thursday’s press briefing that there are “gaps that remain.”
Following their sit-down, the two leaders also met with the families of people still being held hostage by Hamas. The families emerged from the meeting telling reporters they felt “more optimistic than we have” since the successful temporary ceasefire and hostage release deal was carried out in November.
“We got absolute commitment from the Biden administration and from Prime Minister Netanyahu that they understand the urgency of this moment now, to waste no time and to complete this deal as it currently stands with as little change as humanly possible within it,” Jonathan Dekel-Chen, whose son, Sagui, was taken hostage said.
The first phase would last six weeks and include a “full and complete” cease-fire and the release of women, the elderly and the wounded still being held hostage by Hamas as well as free some Palestinian prisoners in Israel.
Kirby also said the two were set to discuss threats to Israel from Iranian proxy groups, including the Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which have been engaged in attacks with Israel, sparking concerns about another front in the conflict.
Biden and Netanyahu’s sit down comes one day after the Israeli leader delivered a controversial address to Congress, which dozens of lawmakers, particularly Democrats, skipped. Protests about Netanyahu's presence in the U.S. and invitation to address Congress roiled streets around the Capitol on Wednesday. Demonstrators also gathered and chanted outside the White House on Thursday.
The U.S. president has faced pushback from some on the world stage and at home for his continued support of Israel amid the fighting in Gaza which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians and led to a humanitarian crisis.
Harris on Thursday, fresh off becoming the likely 2024 Democratic nominee for president, held her own individual meeting with Netanyahu later on Thursday. She emerged declaring that while she has “unwavering commitment” to the existence of the state of Israel, she will not be “silent” on the “suffering” in Gaza.
Netanyahu is also expected to travel to Florida to sit down with former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, at his Mar-a-Lago resort.