Netanyahu's hostage envoy tries to assure families of captives that government not abandoning their loved ones by pushing for agreement in which they'll be released in phases The post Biden: ‘Real progress’ being made in hostage talks,

President Joe Biden aides are once again expressing hope that Israel and Hamas could be close to reaching a deal for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by the terrorist group.

Joe Biden said Thursday there was "real progress" in talks for a ceasefire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, an agreement the US president is pushing for in his last days in office.

My being the oldest president, I know more world leaders than any one of you ever met in your whole goddamn life,’ president tells reporters

Trump's approval plummeted after the January 6, 2021, riot, but Biden's is on track to be lower when he leaves office.

In public, Trump has decried the state of the nation as "a disaster" and "a mess." But at their private meeting, Trump praised him, Biden said. "He was very complimentary about some of the economic things I had done. And he talked about − he thought I was leaving with a good record."

Hamas has named 34 hostages, some of them believed to have died in captivity, who it says it would return to Israel in the first phase of an evolving if still elusive ceasefire in Gaza. The Palestinian militant group circulated the list to media outlets after Israel sent envoys to Qatar for fresh talks for a pause in the devastating war.

Mr Blinken said he hopes to bring the deal to the finish line in the next two weeks. Read more at straitstimes.com.

Now he tells us. In an interview published Saturday in the New York Times, Secretary of State Antony Blinken named the key impediment to a Gaza hostage deal: “Whenever there has been public daylight between the United States and Israel,

The U.S. State Department is warning Congress of its intention to sell $8 billion worth of weapons to Israel, multiple media outlets reported.

Hamas stood by its demand on Tuesday that Israel fully end its assault on Gaza under any deal to release hostages, and said U.S. President-elect Donald Trump was rash to say there would be "hell to pay" unless they go free by his Jan.

Netanyahu accused of endangering soldiers to stay in office, as official insists no progress in Doha while feting arrival of Trump aide Witkoff; Hamas claims war toll tops 46,000