Biden says Netanyahu not doing enough on hostage deal

WASHINGTON:

US President Joe Biden on Monday said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not doing enough to secure a deal for the release of hostages.

Asked by reporters at the White House -- where Biden was arriving for a meeting with US negotiators -- if he thought the Israeli leader was doing enough on the issue, the president responded: "No."

Biden's meeting with the negotiators on the hostage-release deal comes after the deaths on Saturday of six captives in Gaza, including an American citizen.

"President Biden expressed his devastation and outrage at the murder, and reaffirmed the importance of holding Hamas's leaders accountable," a White House statement said.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were briefed by negotiators "on the status of the bridging proposal outlined by the United States, Qatar, and Egypt," the statement said.

Ahead of the meeting, Biden had said negotiators were "very close" to a final proposal to be presented to Israel and Hamas.

Vice President Harris said the killing of the six hostages was "a brutal, barbaric act by Hamas terrorists".

"Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. It is long past time for a ceasefire and hostage deal. We need to bring the hostages home and end the suffering in Gaza," she said in a post on X.

The White House said the briefing had been attended by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, CIA Director William Burns, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, and other senior US officials.

An Israeli court on Monday ordered a halt to a strike called by the country's largest union aimed at ramping up pressure on Netanyahu's government to secure the release of captives.

Hostage relatives and advocates have accused Netanyahu's administration of not doing enough.