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

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will sit down with U.S. negotiators Monday to push for a deal to release hostages in the war between Israel and Hamas, the White House said, after the deaths of six captives in Gaza, including an American citizen.

Biden’s official schedule was revised to allow 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 killing of U.S. citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages by Hamas on Saturday, and discuss efforts to reach an agreement that secures the release of the remaining hostages.”

READ: Israel prepares for general strike after Gaza hostage deaths discovered

The United States, along with its Egyptian and Qatari counterparts, has spent months pushing for a hostage and prisoner exchange and a ceasefire in the Gaza war.

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

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Dozens of hostages were freed during a week-long truce in November, with activists and family members saying another deal was the best option to ensure the return of the rest.

READ: Israel says it has identified six bodies of hostages found in Gaza tunnel

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

Relatives and advocates for the hostages have accused the Netanyahu administration of not doing enough to bring the captives back alive and called for an immediate ceasefire to save the rest.