In a speech that highlighted his foreign policy legacy, President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States is “pushing hard” to close a deal that would free some of the hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a period of peace in Gaza.
“With regard to the war between Israel and Hamas, we are on the brink of a proposal that I laid out in detail months ago finally coming to fruition,” Biden said during a speech at the State Department, adding that he had learned during its long time. career in public service “to never, never, never, never give up.”
“The Palestinian people deserve peace and the right to determine their own future. Israel deserves peace and real security. And the hostages and their families deserve to be reunited,” the president continued. “And so we’re working quickly to close this deal.”
Ahead of the president’s speech, confidence that the ongoing high-level talks could finally produce a long-awaited cease-fire deal boomed across Washington, as the White House signaled that a deal could be cemented before Biden leaves office.
“We’re close to a deal and it could be done this week,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said during a White House press briefing. “I’m not making a promise or a prediction, but it’s there for the taking and we’ll work to make it happen.”
President Joe Biden arrives to speak at the State Department in Washington on January 13, 2025 as he delivers his final foreign policy address.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
Other members of the administration were even more cautiously optimistic, predicting that the next 24 hours would likely be “make or break” for the talks.
The current proposal on the table calls for an initial ceasefire period of at least six weeks in exchange for the release of about 30 hostages, alive or dead, held in Gaza, according to officials familiar with the talks, who add that Israel is also expected to be released. more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners and detainees.
The officials say many of the details, including the exact number of hostages that would be surrendered, are still being worked out, but that Hamas has indicated it is willing to hand over at least two of the seven American citizens the group is holding captive . n — Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36, and Keith Siegel, 65.
While the Biden administration has pressed Israel and Hamas to sign a version of the current deal since the president outlined his framework for a three-step peace pact in late May, members of the incoming Trump administration have played an increasingly large role in the mediation process as the inauguration approaches.
Sullivan said the coordination served to present “a unified message” that it is “in the U.S. national security interest, regardless of party, regardless of the outgoing or incoming administration, to get this deal done as quickly as possible.”
The Trump team’s involvement is also necessary from a practical standpoint, as the U.S. would act as the guarantor of any deal that comes to fruition, and the Biden administration won’t be in power long enough for it to play out.
President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly warned Hamas that “all hell will break loose” if the hostages are not released by his inauguration on January 20.
Ahead of his speech at the State Department, Biden said he had used the phones — speaking with the leader of Qatar, a critical intermediary with direct lines to Hamas, on Monday and speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, according to the White House.
Biden said he would also speak soon with Egypt’s President Sisi, another key broker overseeing the talks.