Biden and Netanyahu discuss Gaza ceasefire talks as momentum builds

US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu person spoken by telephone - Biden's last week successful bureau - arsenic momentum builds towards a Gaza ceasefire and hostage merchandise deal.

Israel and Hamas are understood to beryllium making advancement but uncertainty remains implicit cardinal aspects of the imaginable agreement.

The White House said Biden discussed the "fundamentally changed determination circumstances" pursuing Israel's ceasefire with Hezbollah successful Lebanon, the autumn of the Assad authorities successful Syria, and the weakening of Iran's powerfulness successful the region.

Netanyahu's bureau said helium had updated Biden connected instructions helium had fixed to elder negotiators successful Doha "in bid to beforehand the merchandise of the hostages".

During Sunday's call, which was the archetypal to beryllium publically announced since October, Biden "stressed the contiguous request for a ceasefire successful Gaza and instrumentality of the hostages with a surge successful humanitarian assistance enabled by a stoppage successful the warring nether the deal".

It came a time aft Netanyahu sent a apical Israeli information delegation, including the directors of the Mossad spy bureau and Shin Bet information service, to indirect negotiations successful Qatar's superior mediated by Qatari, US and Egyptian officials.

Israeli media reported that Netanyahu was gathering members of his furniture opposed to a ceasefire woody to transportation them not to resign.

And UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy met his Israeli counterpart successful Jerusalem to sermon advancement connected a deal.

On Saturday, Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff met the Israeli premier curate amid efforts to effort to scope a woody earlier the president-elect's inauguration connected 20 January.

Trump has antecedently said that "all hellhole would interruption loose" if the hostages were not released earlier helium returned to the White House.

Last Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said an statement was "very close" and that helium hoped to "get it implicit the line" earlier Trump took office. Any woody would beryllium based connected the proposals Biden acceptable retired successful May, helium added.

Despite the evident heightened activity, a deficiency of clarity connected respective cardinal issues - including whether an archetypal truce volition pb to a imperishable ceasefire and whether the Israeli subject volition hold to afloat withdrawing from Gaza - remain.

Anshel Pfeffer, Israel analogous for The Economist, said helium was doubtful that a woody would beryllium achieved quickly.

"We've been present truthful galore times before," helium told the BBC's Today Programme.

"There is simply a spot much country for optimism, but until determination is an authoritative announcement oregon a truce oregon ceasefire and we commencement seeing hostages coming out, I'm going to stay sceptical."

But helium added that it was successful some Israel and Hamas's involvement to onslaught a woody earlier Trump entered office.

"There is simply a fearfulness [from Hamas] that Trump volition someway springiness Israel support to unleash devastation that hasn't yet been unleashed connected Gaza."

"Both sides consciousness truthful invested, they've suffered truthful much."

The warfare was triggered by Hamas's onslaught connected confederate Israel connected 7 October 2023, successful which astir 1,200 radical were killed and 251 others taken backmost to Gaza arsenic hostages. Israel launched a subject violative successful Gaza to destruct Hamas successful response.

Gaza's Hamas-run wellness ministry says much than 46,500 radical person been killed during the war.

Israel says 94 of the hostages stay successful Gaza, of whom 34 are presumed dead, arsenic good arsenic different 4 Israelis who were abducted earlier the war, 2 of whom are dead.