President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are set to meet in the Situation Room on Monday morning to discuss how to secure a deal that will free the remaining hostages in Israel.
The meeting comes after six hostages were found dead in Gaza over the weekend, including Israeli American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. They were believed to have been killed on Thursday or Friday as ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas stalled.
Biden is returning from his Labor Day vacation in Delaware to attend the meeting.
The Biden administration has been working with the governments of Egypt and Qatar on a “take it or leave it” final outline for a ceasefire and hostage exchange deal between Israel and Hamas, according to a report from the Washington Post. The senior White House official who spoke with the outlet said if both Israel and Hamas fail to accept the deal, these negotiations could mark the end of the American-led negotiations.
“You can’t keep negotiating this. This process has to be called at some point,” the senior official said.
There has been pressure mounting in Israel in recent weeks for the Israeli government to let go of its final demands and bring the hostages home. Three or four of the six murdered hostages reportedly would have been released in the first phase of an agreement, which has prompted hundreds of thousands of protesters in Israel to call for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reach a ceasefire deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.
There are 101 hostages believed to be left in Gaza, seven of whom have American citizenship. Families of the seven Americans met with U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan and White House Coordinator for the Middle East Brett McGurk on Sunday to discuss the recovery of the six bodies and the status of ceasefire negotiations.
“Sullivan told the families that the next few days will be critical in the push to free the remaining 101 hostages,” the American hostage families said in a joint statement, per the Times of Israel.
The White House said Sullivan “discussed the ongoing diplomatic push across the highest levels of the U.S. government to drive towards a deal that secures the release of the remaining hostages.”
Goldberg-Polin’s parents spoke at the Democratic National Convention in August, at which they applied pressure to help bring home the hostages taken on Oct. 7 by Hamas.
“With broken hearts, the Goldberg-Polin family is devastated to announce the death of their beloved son and brother, Hersh. The family thanks you all for your love and support and asks for privacy at this time,” a statement from the family said.
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In a statement, Biden said the Goldberg-Polin family has “been relentless and irrepressible champions of their son and of all the hostages held in unconscionable conditions.”
“It is as tragic as it is reprehensible. Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages,” the president’s statement continued.
