President Joe Biden sent letters to the governments of Egypt and Qatar asking for their support in trying to persuade Hamas to accept a hostage deal with Israel.
Biden's request to the Egyptian president Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and the Emir Sheikh of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad al-Than comes at a time when Gazans are suffering from a severe humanitarian crisis as Israel advances its military campaign in response to the Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7.
According to the New York Post, Biden called on Qatar and Egypt to maximize their diplomatic efforts to get Hamas to release some of the most vulnerable hostages held captive in Gaza and to pressure the terrorist group to honor a potential deal.
The idea is that Hamas accepts an agreement where sick, wounded, elderly and young hostages are released in exchange for the cessation of Israel's military operations in the region.
At the same time, President Biden is putting pressure on Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to train his negotiators to finally reach an agreement with Hamas.
There are an estimated 134 hostages still remaining in Hamas custody in Gaza, including five American citizens.
