BICOM

What’s happened: Following his speech to Congress on Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Netanyahu continued his US trip yesterday by meeting with President Biden, Vice-President Harris, and other US officials.

• Biden and Netanyahu met for an hour and half, devoted largely to the hostage deal, before being joined by hostage families. Netanyahu then left to meet with Harris, while the families remained in conversation with Biden.
• The White House said that Biden relayed to Netanyahu “the need to close the remaining gaps” on a hostage deal, in order to enable “a durable end to the war in Gaza”.
• Biden also “reaffirmed the US ironclad commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis,” while expressing concern over “the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the need to remove any obstacles to the flow of aid and restoring basic services for those in need and the critical importance of protecting civilian lives during military operations.”
• Netanyahu and Harris then met for 40 minutes, after which Harris stated that they had had a “frank and constructive” discussion, and that “there has been hopeful movement” on a hostage deal.
• Afterwards, Harris similarly reinforced her own “ironclad support” and “unwavering commitment” to Israel, before making clear her “serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there with over two million people are facing high levels of food insecurity,” she said.
• “What has happened in Gaza over the past nine months is devastating. The images of dead children and desperate hungry people fleeing for safety — sometimes displaced for the second, third or fourth time. We cannot look away in the face of these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering and I will not be silent.”
• Hostage families emerged from their meetings with Biden and Netanyahu cautiously optimistic on the chances of a deal. “After asking a series of difficult questions and getting answers to all of them… we feel probably more optimistic than we have since the first round of releases in late November,” hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen’s father Jonathan said.
• Adi Alexander, father of hostage Idan Alexander said the families had asked Netanyahu if he had added new conditions to the proposal to Hamas, to which the prime minister replied “no”.
• Alexander also said that Biden had said “he will turn entirely over the next half-year to solving this problem, and that he is basically free of all political pressure. He feels great physically, and he’ll do all he can to make progress on this issue.”
• In parallel to Netanyahu’s visit, IDF troops have continued operational activity in Gaza in the areas of Khan Younis, Rafah and the central Strip, where they targeted Hamas fighters and terrorist infrastructure.
• Once again, the IDF presented further evidence of Hamas operating out of UNRWA facilities, even from inside the declared humanitarian zone. Yesterday, Hamas fired rockets which failed, resulting in two Palestinian deaths and multiple injuries. Following the recovery earlier this week of five hostage bodies, the IDF confirmed that they had been found in a tunnel, also in the humanitarian zone.

Context: Yesterday’s meetings followed Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday evening, in which the prime minister aimed to rebuild bipartisan support for the Israel-US relationship. (For more, see BICOM’s Morning Brief.)

• As part of that charm offensive, Netanyahu was careful to express his appreciation of Biden’s steadfast support of Israel on October 7^th; his moving of two US aircraft carriers into the Mediterranean as a force projection against Hezbollah intent; his powerful visit to Israel shortly after; and his leadership of a multi-force coalition – including British and Jordanian involvement – which protected Israel from direct Iranian attack on April 14^th.
• Netanyahu echoed this praise yesterday, saying “Mr. President, we’ve known each other for 40 years… I want to thank you for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the State of Israel. I look forward to discussing with you today and working with you in the months ahead on the great issues before us.”
• Prior to her meeting with Netanyahu, Harris put out a strong statement condemning the actions of pro-Palestinian protesters in Washington the day before. Harris called them “despicable acts by unpatriotic protestors and dangerous hate-fuelled rhetoric,” and condemned “any individuals associating with the brutal terrorist organisation Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate the State of Israel and kill Jews. Pro-Hamas graffiti and rhetoric is abhorrent and we must not tolerate it in our nation.”
• Harris’s unequivocal condemnation of Hamas echoed a statement earlier in the week from State Department official Matthew Miller, who said, “Hamas has not renounced terrorism; it has not renounced the use of violence to achieve its political aims… there’s no one that has brought more pain and suffering to the people in Gaza than Hamas through their decisions.”
• Hostage negotiations have continued over recent weeks, under the broad framework of what became known as the “Biden proposal”, despite its originating in Israel. Some of the unresolved issues have included:
  • Hamas’s demands that Israel vacate the Philadelphia Corridor between Gaza and Egypt. Israel has maintained that some kind of presence in the corridor is essential to prevent the resumption of weapons smuggling into Gaza through Egypt.
  • Israel’s need for mechanisms to be in place to prevent Hamas fighters moving north along with the civilian population.
  • Israel’s insistence on a veto regarding the release of certain ‘heavyweight’ Palestinian prisoners.
  • Israel’s insistence on receiving a list of names of the hostages to be released by Hamas.
• It is highly likely that Hamas will instinctively resist the solutions Israeli delegates will propose on these issues. However, there is hope that the combination of the pressure Israel has brought to bear on the organisation through its military campaign and diplomatic pressure led by the US, along with Qatar and Egypt will persuade Hamas leaders that this is the best deal it can expect.
• Ahead of his meeting with Netanyahu later today, former President and current Republican candidate Trump spoke to Fox News yesterday. He said of the war that if he was elected he would want Netanyahu to “finish up, and get it done quickly.”
• Jon Polin, father of hostage Hersh, pointed to the unanimity across the US political spectrum on the need to secure a deal now. “This is a special moment,” he said, “in which President Biden, Vice President Harris and Trump — anyone who could be president — are aligned in the statement that there must be a deal now.”

Looking ahead: Netanyahu is set to meet with former President and current Republican candidate Trump today.

• Following the meeting between Netanyahu and Biden, a final text of the Israeli outline for a hostage deal is expected to be handed to Israeli negotiators. Mossad Director Barnea will then travel for talks aimed at finalising a deal, where it is anticipated he will be joined by CIA Director Burns.
• Following recent reports of a China-brokered reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah, State Department official Miller also ruled out US support for Hamas playing any future role in Palestinian governance. “There can’t be a role for a terrorist organisation,” he said.