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Biden-Netanyahu Talk Turns Heated Over Gaza Truce Deal
US President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, June 28, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
JNS.org – President Joe Biden became worked up during a heated conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday regarding ceasefire talks, with the president raising his voice and saying “move on a deal now.”
The president expressed concerns that last Wednesday’s targeted killing of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, which has been blamed on Israel, would sabotage ongoing negotiations to reach a hostages-for-terrorists-and-ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Listening in on the conversation without Israel’s knowledge was Vice President Kamala Harris, Channel 12 reported.
“Israel is making progress with the negotiations, [an Israeli] delegation [to the talks] will go out,” Netanyahu reportedly said, according to leaked and unconfirmed reports.
“Stop bullsh**ting me,” Biden said at the end of the conversation, telling Netanyahu not to take the presidency for granted.
The Prime Minister’s Office did not confirm or deny the conversation, only saying that it would not comment on closed conversations between the prime minister and the US president.
The PMO added: “The Prime Minister persists in his desire to release all of our abductees, the living and the dead alike. The Prime Minister does not interfere in American politics and will work with whoever is elected president, as he also expects the Americans not to interfere in Israeli politics.”
According to The New York Times version of the conversation, based on an anonymous Israeli official, Netanyahu said he was not trying to block a deal and the Haniyeh assassination would delay the talks by at most a few days.
“Netanyahu argued that it would ultimately hasten the finalization of an agreement by putting more pressure on Hamas,” the Times reported, citing the Israeli official.
Biden said the the assassination of Haniyeh was poorly timed, as it came at what the Americans considered the endpoint of the negotiation process.
Biden also expressed concern that killing Haniyeh in Tehran could trigger a wider regional war, which his administration has been endeavoring to prevent, the Times reported.
Biden referred to his conversation with Netanyahu, speaking to reporters on Thursday night at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
“I’m very concerned about it,” the president said of the Middle East situation. “I had a very direct meeting with the prime minister today—very direct. We have the basis for a ceasefire. He should move on it and they should move on it now.”
Of the Haniyeh assassination’s impact on a hostage deal, Biden said, “It’s not helped. That’s all I’m going to say right now.”
The post Biden-Netanyahu Talk Turns Heated Over Gaza Truce Deal first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Netanyahu Criticizes Nation-Wide Strike That ‘Strengthens Hamas’
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday harshly criticized nationwide demonstrations calling for the release of hostages and an end to the Gaza war.
Speaking at a government meeting, Netanyahu argued that such protests only strengthen Hamas and risk repeating the atrocities of October 7.
“Those who call today for an end to Hamas’s war not only harden the terrorist group’s position and delay the release of our hostages, but also guarantee that the horrors of October 7 will be repeated and that we will have to fight an endless war,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister defended Israel’s ongoing military operations, citing strikes carried out in recent days: “In the last 24 hours, the navy attacked power stations in Yemen, IDF soldiers struck Zeitoun and eliminated dozens of terrorists in Gaza, and the air force targeted Hezbollah commanders and launch sites in Lebanon.”
He added that Israel’s response in Lebanon was consistent with the ceasefire agreement: “According to this agreement, we will meet with fire any violation and any attempt to arm Hezbollah.”
Netanyahu reaffirmed Israel’s conditions for ending the conflict, stressing the need for continued security control in Gaza and the group’s long-term demilitarization. He rejected Hamas’s demand for a full Israeli withdrawal: “They want us to leave Gaza entirely — from the north, the south, the Philadelphi corridor, and the security perimeter. That would only allow them to reorganize, rearm, and attack us again.”
The war has now entered its 681st day, with 49 hostages still held by Hamas.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Israelis joined a general strike organized by the Hostage Families Forum, calling for the return of all captives in a single deal and for an end to the war. Demonstrations spread across the country, at major intersections, government ministers’ homes, and familiar protest hubs such as Kaplan Junction and the Ayalon highways.
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Family Releases Footage of Matan Zangauker in Captivity
A screenshot of a video released by the family of hostage Matan Zangauker.
i24 News – The family of Matan Zangauker, the Israeli hostage held by Hamas since October 7, shared new footage of him from captivity on Sunday evening.
The video, obtained by the IDF, was recorded several months ago.
In the recording, 32-year-old Matan looks directly into the camera, addressing his loved ones: “Tato, Shani, Ilana, I miss you. God willing, we’ll see each other soon. All my friends and acquaintances, go out and make noise like only you know how.”
Matan was kidnapped from his home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, along with his partner Ilana Gritsievsky, who was released in a hostage deal last year. Since then, Matan has remained in Hamas custody while his family continues to fight for his return.
On the national protest day calling for the release of hostages, Ilana staged a poignant display at Hostages Square. Dressed in a wedding gown beneath a chuppah, she symbolically “married” Matan in his absence. “Matan, my curly-haired one, if you hadn’t been abducted, we could already be married. In a single day, our world was destroyed, and you’re not here to hold me. I’m fighting for you until you come back,” she said.
Matan’s mother, Einav, has emerged as a leading voice in the campaign for the hostages’ release and has sharply criticized Israel’s political leadership, accusing them of undermining potential hostage deals.
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Hamas Rejects Israel’s Gaza Relocation Plan
Palestinians, displaced by the Israeli offensive, shelter in a tent camp as the Israeli military prepares to relocate residents to southern Gaza, in Gaza City August 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Palestinian terrorist group Hamas said on Sunday that Israel’s plan to relocate residents from Gaza City constitutes a “new wave of genocide and displacement” for hundreds of thousands of residents in the area.
The group said the planned deployment of tents and other shelter equipment by Israel into southern Gaza was a “blatant deception.”
The Israeli military has said it is preparing to provide tents and other equipment starting from Sunday ahead of its plan to relocate residents from combat zones to the south of the enclave “to ensure their safety.”
Hamas said in a statement that the deployment of tents under the guise of humanitarian purposes is a blatant deception intended to “cover up a brutal crime that the occupation forces prepare to execute.”
Israel said earlier this month that it intended to launch a new offensive to seize control of northern Gaza City, the enclave’s largest urban center. The plan has raised international alarm over the fate of the demolished strip, which is home to about 2.2 million people.