Biden speaks to Netanyahu about cease-fire talks

President Biden spoke with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday morning about progress on a cease-fire deal between Israel and Hamas.

“Earlier I spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss ongoing efforts to finalize a deal that would result in a ceasefire together with the release of hostages – a deal that I have outlined and is endorsed by the UN Security Council, the G7, and countries around the world,” Biden wrote on the social platform X.

Biden announced at the end of May a three-part proposal to end the fighting and return Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Hamas abducted around 250 hostages and killed about 1,200 people when it attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

More than 35,000 Palestinians have died since, as Israel hammers Gaza in an effort to wipe out Hamas and rescue the hostages, prompting international outrage and sparking protests across U.S. college campuses.

The Biden administration has stood by its ally, sending billions of dollars in military assistance to Israel. Some Democrats have pushed Biden to take a harder stance with Netanyahu over the country’s conduct in the war, but members overwhelmingly support the country in the war.

The United Nations Security Council approved a U.S.-sponsored resolution last month that called for an immediate, temporary cease-fire. The text of the resolution noted Israel had “accepted” the framework laid out by Biden in May and called on Hamas to accept the deal as well.

The call comes less than three weeks before Netanyahu is slated to address Congress on July 24.

“Through thick and thin, for the past nine months, Israel has deeply appreciated vital American support,” Netanyahu wrote on X.