The phone call came a day after Prime Minister Netanyahu sent a delegation of top Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and Shin Bet security officials to Doha.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone with outgoing US President Joe Biden during his final hours as a ceasefire and hostage release agreement in Gaza gained momentum.
Israel and Hamas appear to be making progress on the deal. However, uncertainty remains about the key points of a possible ceasefire agreement.
The White House said Biden discussed Israel’s ceasefire with Lebanon’s Hezbollah group, the “fundamentally changed regional situation” following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria and the weakening of Iran’s influence in the region.
Netanyahu’s office said he briefed Biden on instructions he had given to senior negotiators in Doha “to proceed with the release of hostages.”
The two leaders spoke over the phone on Sunday. This is the first time the matter has come to light since October. In the phone call, Biden stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the return of the hostages, ending fighting under the agreement.
His phone call with Biden came a day after Netanyahu sent a delegation of top Israeli intelligence agency Mossad and Shin Bet security officials to Doha for indirect talks brokered by Qatari, US and Egyptian officials.