Biden Urges For "Immediate Ceasefire" In Gaza On Call With Netanyahu (image@ M_shebrawy)

US President Joe Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the ongoing Israel-Hamas ceasefire talks. Reportedly, Biden stressed the “immediate need” for a truce, and the return of Israeli hostages under Hamas captive. The call from Biden came as he pushes to reach a deal before he leave White House and Donald Trump take over on January 20.

The ceasefire negotiations are currently being mediated by US, Egypt, and Qatar. The talks repeatedly came to halt at moments when they were nearing to reach an agreement. The latest round of talks is taking place in Doha. David Barnea, Israel’s Mossad foreign intelligence agency head, and Biden’s top Middle East adviser, Brett McGurk, are also in the talk.

Barnea’s presence means that, high Israeli official, who would need to sign off any agreement deal are now involved in the talks.

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“We are very, very close…Yet being very close still means we’re far because until you actually get across the finish line, we’re not there”, McGurk told media.

According to White House, the ongoing talks in Doha are for a deal based on the phased ceasefire that Biden had announced in May of last year, which was later endorsed unanimously by the United Nations Security Council.

President Biden “stressed the immediate need for a ceasefire in Gaza and return of the hostages with a surge in humanitarian aid enabled by a stoppage in the fighting under the deal”.

The Israeli officials are expected to stay a longer in Doha “in order to hammer out final details for a potential deal”, as reported by Al Jazeera. It was also reported that the Israelis and Hamas have traded blame for the delay in reaching a deal, while there is disagreement among Netanyahu’s coalition about a ceasefire.

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While the ceasefire talk is taking place, Israel continue its bombing rampage in Gaza, particularly in the northern region of the coastal enclave. North Gaza has been under the brutal siege of Israel for the past 100 days. Reportedly, more than 5,000 Palestinians have been killed or are missing due to the ongoing bombing. Israel has burned down all the working medical facilities in northern Gaza, arresting medical workers, including doctors and hospital directors.