Biden, Harris to meet US negotiating team on Gaza hostage deal

A journalist reports on the ground as an explosion propagates smoke and dust during an Israeli strike which reportedly targeted a school in the Zeitoun district on the outskirts of Gaza City, on September 1, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas group. Agence France-Presse

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will sit down on Monday with US negotiators pushing for a hostage-release deal in the Israel-Hamas war, the White House said, after the deaths of six captives in Gaza, including an American citizen.

Biden’s official schedule was revised to make time for the White House meeting, which will also be attended by Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running to succeed him in November’s presidential election.

A statement announcing Biden’s updated schedule said he and Harris would meet Monday “with the U.S. hostage deal negotiating team following the murder of American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages by Hamas on Saturday, and discuss efforts to drive towards a deal that secures the release of the remaining hostages.”

READ: Israel set for general strike after Gaza hostages found dead

The United States, along with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar, has spent months pushing for a hostage-prisoner exchange and ceasefire in the war in Gaza.

Militants seized 251 hostages during the October 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war, 97 of whom remain in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.

Scores of hostages were released during a one-week truce in November, with campaigners and family members believing another deal is the best option to ensure the rest return.

READ: Israel says identifies six hostage bodies found in Gaza tunnel

A nationwide strike in Israel aimed at ramping up pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to secure the release of the remaining captives was set to begin Monday.

Hostage relatives and advocates have accused Netanyahu’s administration of not doing enough to bring the captives back alive, and have called for an immediate ceasefire to rescue the rest.