President Biden claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not doing enough to secure a hostage deal with Hamas terrorists.
Biden made the remarks to reporters before heading into the Situation Room, where he and Vice President Harris are convening with a hostage deal negotiating team following the murder of 23-year-old Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages by Hamas on Saturday.
Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of an Israeli-American hostage still being held by Hamas, pleaded earlier Monday for the U.S. and Israel to broker a deal “with Satan.”
President Biden talks to reporters on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, Sept. 2, 2024, in Washington, after returning from Rehoboth Beach, Del. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Dekel-Chen acknowledged that the United States together with Qatar and Egypt are trying to broker an agreement between Israel and “a savage terrorist organization,” but insisted that Israeli intelligence shows Hamas’ forces are depleted at this stage, so Netanyahu cannot offer “an excuse anymore to not complete this deal” to bring the remaining 101 hostages, including seven Americans, taken into Gaza on Oct. 7, 2023, home.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
