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Netanyahu Hits Back After Biden Claims He’s Not Doing Enough to Secure Hostage Deal With Hamas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a press conference with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and Cabinet Minister Benny Gantz (not pictured) in the Kirya military base in Tel Aviv , Israel , 28 October 2023. Photo: ABIR SULTAN POOL/Pool via REUTERS
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hit back at US President Joe Biden after the American leader claimed he has not worked hard enough to secure a ceasefire and hostage deal between the Jewish state and the Hamas terrorist group.
Netanyahu spoke to reporters on Monday, insisting that he has worked tirelessly to achieve an end to the war in Gaza and free the remaining hostages from the clutches of Hamas, which kidnapped the captives during the terrorist group’s Oct. 7 onslaught across southern Israel.
“I want to set the record straight,” Netanyahu said. “On April 27, [US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken] said that Israel has made an extraordinarily generous offer for a hostage deal. On May 31, Israel agreed to a US-backed proposal. Hamas refused. On Aug. 16, Israel agreed to what the US defined as a final bridging proposal. Hamas refused again. On Aug. 19, Secretary Blinken said, ‘Israel accepted the US proposal; now Hamas must do the same.’ On Aug. 28 — that’s five days ago, five days ago — [Deputy CIA Director David Cohen] said that ‘Israel shows seriousness in the negotiations. Now Hamas must show the same seriousness.’”
Netanyahu’s comments came after the bodies of six Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists on Oct. 7 were found over the weekend in a tunnel in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Hamas terrorists had executed them prior to a raid by Israeli forces. One of the murdered hostages, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, was an American-Israeli dual citizen.
The Israeli prime minister urged world leaders to maintain maximum pressure on Hamas or risk emboldening the terrorist group to continue fighting and committing atrocities.
“I want to ask you something: What has changed in the last five days? What has changed?” Netanyahu asked. “One thing: These murderers executed six of our hostages. They shot them in the back of the head. That’s what’s changed. And now? After seeing this, we’re asked to show seriousness? We’re asked to make concessions? What message does this send to Hamas? It says: Kill more hostages, murder more hostages, you’ll get more concessions.”
Netanyahu argued that the international community should direct its outrage at Hamas and that anyone “serious about achieving peace” should grant Israel maximum support to help diminish the terrorist group’s leverage.
“The pressure internationally must be directed at those killers. At Hamas, not at Israel. We say yes; they say no all the time,” Netanyahu added. “But they also murdered these people, and now we need maximum pressure on Hamas. I don’t believe that either President Biden or anyone serious about achieving peace, achieving the release [of hostages], would seriously ask Israel, Israel to make these concessions. We’ve already made them. Hamas has to make the concessions.”
The Israeli prime minister has been under immense pressure to finalize a ceasefire with Hamas to end the fighting in Gaza and secure the release of the remaining hostages in Gaza — about one-third of whom have already been declared dead. The pressure mounted after the six hostages were murdered, which led large crowds of Israelis to flood the streets in outrage and protest in support of a deal to secure the release of the hostages.
Netanyahu’s comments appeared to be a direct response to Biden claiming earlier in the day that the Israeli premier was not doing enough to try and reach a ceasefire. Biden was taking questions from the press on the South Lawn of the White House when a reporter asked, “Mr. President, do you think it’s time for Prime Minister Netanyahu to do more on this issue? Do you think he is doing enough?”
Biden responded flatly, “No.”
However, Biden insisted that “we’re very close” to achieving a final agreement, adding that he will continue “to push” for the release of the remaining American hostages in Gaza.
“Yes. I have spoken to the American hostage … I spoke to his mom and dad, and we are not giving up. We are going to continue to push as hard as we can. Thank you,” Biden told reporters on Monday.
In November, more than 100 hostages were released as part of a week-long truce between Israel and Hamas. Since then, the US, Egypt, and Qatar have attempted to broker a more enduring ceasefire. Hamas has repeatedly rejected proposals accepted by Israel.
Israeli officials have said they believe 101 hostages remain in Gaza, including the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the Israeli military.
The post Netanyahu Hits Back After Biden Claims He’s Not Doing Enough to Secure Hostage Deal With Hamas first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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North London Synagogue, Nursery Targeted in Eighth Local Antisemitic Incident in Just Over a Week

Demonstrators against antisemitism in London on Sept. 8, 2025. Photo: Campaign Against Antisemitism
A synagogue and its nursery school in the Golders Green area of north London were targeted in an antisemitic attack on Thursday morning — the eighth such incident locally in just over a week amid a shocking surge of anti-Jewish hate crimes in the area.
The synagogue and Jewish nursery were smeared with excrement in an antisemitic outrage echoing a series of recent incidents targeting the local Jewish community.
“The desecration of another local synagogue and a children’s nursery with excrement is a vile, deliberate, and premeditated act of antisemitism,” Shomrim North West London, a Jewish organization that monitors antisemitism and also serves as a neighborhood watch group, said in a statement.
“This marks the eighth antisemitic incident locally in just over a week, to directly target the local Jewish community,” the statement read. “These repeated attacks have left our community anxious, hurt, and increasingly worried.”
Local law enforcement confirmed they are reviewing CCTV footage and collecting evidence to identify the suspect and bring them to justice.
This latest anti-Jewish hate crime came just days after tens of thousands of people marched through London in a demonstration against antisemitism, amid rising levels of antisemitic incidents across the United Kingdom since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
In just over a week, seven Jewish premises in Barnet, the borough in which Golders Green is located, have been targeted in separate antisemitic incidents.
According to the Metropolitan Police, an investigation has been launched into the targeted attacks, all of which involved the use of bodily fluids.
During the incidents, a substance was smeared on four synagogues and a private residence, while a liquid was thrown at a school and over a car in two other attacks.
As the investigation continues, local police said they believe the same suspect is likely responsible for all seven offenses, which are being treated as religiously motivated criminal damage.
No arrests have been made so far, but law enforcement said it is actively engaging with the local Jewish community to provide reassurance and support.
The Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters, condemned the recent wave of attacks and called on authorities to take immediate action.
“The extreme defilement of several Jewish locations in and around Golders Green is utterly abhorrent and deeply distressing,” CST said in a statement.
“CST is working closely with police and communal partners to support victims and help identify and apprehend the perpetrator,” it continued.
The Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) also denounced the attacks, calling for urgent measures to protect the Jewish community.
“These repeated incidents are leaving British Jews anxious and vulnerable in their own neighborhoods, not to mention disgusted,” CAA said in a statement.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, the United Kingdom has experienced a surge in antisemitic crimes and anti-Israel sentiment.
Last month, CST published a report showing there were 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded.
In total last year, CST recorded 3,528 antisemitic incidents for 2024, the country’s second worst year for antisemitism despite being an 18 percent drop from 2023’s record of 4,296.
In previous years, the numbers were significantly lower, with 1,662 incidents in 2022 and 2,261 hate crimes in 2021.
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Germany to Hold Off on Recognizing Palestinian State but Will Back UN Resolution for Two-State Solution

German national flag flutters on top of the Reichstag building, that seats the Germany’s lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, in Berlin, Germany, March 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Germany will support a United Nations resolution for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict but does not believe the time has come to recognize a Palestinian state, a government spokesman told Reuters on Thursday.
“Germany will support such a resolution which simply describes the status quo in international law,” the spokesman said, adding that Berlin “has always advocated a two-state solution and is asking for that all the time.”
“The chancellor just mentioned two days ago again that Germany does not see that the time has come for the recognition of the Palestinian state,” the spokesman added.
Britain, France, Canada, Australia, and Belgium have all said they will recognize a Palestinian state at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, although London said it could hold back if Israel were to take steps to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and commit to a long-term peace process.
The United States strongly opposes any move by its European allies to recognize Palestinian independence.
Last week, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the US has told other countries that recognition of a Palestinian state will cause more problems.
Those who see recognition as a largely symbolic gesture point to the negligible presence on the ground and limited influence in the conflict of countries such as China, India, Russia, and many Arab states that have recognized Palestinian independence for decades.
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UN Security Council, With US Support, Condemns Strikes on Qatar

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned recent strikes on Qatar’s capital Doha, but did not mention Israel in the statement agreed to by all 15 members, including Israel‘s ally the United States.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with the attack on Tuesday, escalating its military action in what the United States described as a unilateral attack that does not advance US and Israeli interests.
The United States traditionally shields its ally Israel at the United Nations. US backing for the Security Council statement, which could only be approved by consensus, reflects President Donald Trump’s unhappiness with the attack ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“Council members underscored the importance of de-escalation and expressed their solidarity with Qatar. They underlined their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Qatar,” read the statement, drafted by Britain and France.
The Doha operation was especially sensitive because Qatar has been hosting and mediating negotiations aimed at securing a ceasefire in the Gaza war.
“Council members underscored that releasing the hostages, including those killed by Hamas, and ending the war and suffering in Gaza must remain our top priority,” the Security Council statement read.
The Security Council will meet later on Thursday to discuss the Israeli attack at a meeting due to be attended by Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani.