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,

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.

The U.S.-brokered talks, which have been deadlocked for months, involve Biden administration and Trump transition officials and could also involve the release of hostages.

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

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

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.

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."

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

Israel’s leader ensured a better legacy for the U.S. president by ignoring his advice.

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,

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced confidence Monday that a ceasefire deal in Gaza would come together, but possibly after President Joe Biden leaves office on January 20.

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