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President Biden addresses reporters before heading into the Situation Room.

President Biden criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that he is not doing enough to secure a hostage deal with Hamas terrorists. Biden made these comments while speaking to reporters before entering the Situation Room, where he and Vice President Kamala Harris were meeting with a team negotiating a hostage deal. This meeting follows the tragic killing of 23-year-old Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages by Hamas on Saturday.

Earlier that day, Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of another Israeli-American hostage still held by Hamas, urged both the U.S. and Israel to negotiate, even if it meant striking a deal “with Satan.”

Jonathan Dekel-Chen acknowledged that the United States, along with Qatar and Egypt, is working to broker an agreement between Israel and “a savage terrorist organization.” However, he emphasized that Israeli intelligence indicates Hamas’ forces are now significantly weakened, leaving Netanyahu with “no excuse” to avoid finalizing the deal to bring home the remaining 101 hostages, including seven Americans, who were taken into Gaza on October 7, 2023.