Biden vows to end Gaza War and free hostages after dropping out of presidential race

Netanyahu to meet with Biden on Thursday to discuss war and hostage release deal

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U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Monday that he would continue to work on ending the Gaza War during his remaining months in the Oval Office.

The president made his remarks in a phone call to his campaign headquarters in Delaware, where Vice President Kamala Harris had traveled to assume leadership of the campaign.

“I won’t be on the ticket but I’m still going to be fully engaged,” Biden said during the call. “I’ve got six months left in my presidency, and I’m determined to get as much done as I possibly can, both foreign policy and domestic policy.”

“I’ll be working very closely with the Israelis and with the Palestinians to try to work out how we can get the Gaza war to end, and Middle East peace, and get all those hostages home. I think we’re on the verge of being able to do that,” he stated.

Biden has been pressuring the Israeli government to agree to a hostage release ceasefire deal that would halt the war for several months.

While U.S. officials have repeatedly said that a deal is close, neither Israel nor Hamas has committed to the Biden hostage deal as proposed.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the hostage negotiation team before departing Israel, where he reportedly laid out his red lines for an agreement, including opposition to a total withdrawal from the Philadelphi Corridor in Gaza.

Shortly after landing in the U.S., Netanyahu told hostage families that conditions for a hostage deal “are becoming ripe” due to military pressure on Hamas.

Netanyahu acknowledged the reports of two Israeli hostages who were confirmed dead yesterday, while promising to do everything in his power to bring all the hostages back to their homes.

“We are determined to return them all. The conditions for returning them are becoming ripe, for the simple reason that we are putting very strong pressure on Hamas,” Netanyahu said.

While Netanyahu’s planned meeting with the U.S. president on Wednesday was cancelled due to the Biden's COVID-19 symptoms, officials say Biden expects the meeting to take place on Thursday.

The White House announced that Biden would return to Washington on Tuesday afternoon. The president hasn’t been seen publicly since receiving the COVID-19 diagnosis last Wednesday.

“If I didn’t have COVID, I’d be sitting there with you, standing with you,” Biden told his campaign staff .

He called on the team to "embrace" Harris.

“I want to say to the team, embrace her. She’s the best. I know yesterday’s news is surprising and it’s hard for you to hear, but it was the right thing to do,” he said.