The Times of Israel is liveblogging Tuesday’s events as they happen.
Meeting hostage families in US, Netanyahu says conditions for deal ‘coming together’
WASHINGTON — After landing in the US, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells the families of Israelis held hostage by Hamas that the conditions for a deal “are coming together, without a doubt.”
He says a potential deal to release hostages is coming together because of intense military pressure Israel is applying to Hamas.
“This is a good sign,” he continues, “and the other sign is that we are also seeing that the enemy’s spirit is starting to break.”
“We are seeing a certain change,” says Netanyahu, “and I think that this change will continue to get bigger.”
Sitting next to his wife Sara and government hostage pointman Gal Hirsch, Netanyahu tells the families that if Israel stands firm “we can reach a deal.”
“I say at the outset that this will be a process, unfortunately it’s not all at once, there will be stages,” he continues, “but I believe that we can move a deal forward and maintain the means of pressure that can bring about the release of the others.”
The meeting included 23 family members of hostages — 12 of whom are relatives of American citizens held by Hamas, freed hostage Noa Argamani and her father Yaakov, and two soldiers who fought in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing war against Hamas.
Netanyahu insists he is doing everything he can to bring back the hostages while protecting Israel’s very existence.
“In no circumstance am I willing to give up on victory over Hamas.” he emphasizes. “If we let up, we will be in danger from all of Iran’s evil axis.”
Harris has support of enough Democratic delegates to become party’s presidential nominee — AP
WASHINGTON — US Vice President Kamala Harris has secured the support of enough Democratic delegates to become her party’s nominee against Republican Donald Trump, according to an Associated Press survey, as top Democrats rally to her in the aftermath of President Joe Biden’s decision to drop his bid for reelection.
The quick coalescing behind Harris marks an attempt by the party to put weeks of internecine drama over Biden’s political future behind them and to unify behind the task of defeating Trump with just over 100 days until Election Day. Prominent Democratic elected officials, party leaders and political organizations quickly lined up behind Harris in the day after Biden’s exit from the race and her campaign set a new 24-hour record for presidential donations on Monday.
Several state delegations met late Monday to confirm their support for Harris, including Texas and her home state of California. By Monday night, Harris had the support of at least 2,471 delegates, according to the AP tally of delegates, more than the 1,976 delegates she’ll need to win on a first ballot. No other candidate was named by a delegate contacted by the AP.
California state Democratic Chairman Rusty Hicks says 75% to 80% of the state’s delegation were on a call and they unanimously supported Harris.
“I’ve not heard anyone mentioning or calling for any other candidate,” Hicks says. “Tonight’s vote was a momentous one.”
Still, the AP is not calling Harris the new presumptive nominee. That’s because the convention delegates are still free to vote for the candidate of their choice at the convention in August or if Democrats go through with a virtual roll call ahead of that gathering in Chicago.
Families of American-Israeli hostages meet Netanyahu, demand he back deal while in DC
WASHINGTON — The relatives of eight American-Israeli hostages met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier tonight in Washington, demanding that he use his speech to a joint session of Congress to announce that he has finalized the ceasefire deal that will bring their loved ones home, according to a readout from the families.
“Anything less, they said, would constitute an abject failure of his trip to Washington,” reiterating a line they used earlier today in a briefing with reporters and in a readout of their meeting with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
The “families emphatically told Netanyahu that their loved ones cannot wait any longer and that he must close the deal now,” the readout says.
“They reminded him that he is on US soil and that he should address the plight of the eight American hostages when he speaks to Congress on Wednesday.”
Netanyahu’s office announced on Sunday that he would dispatch the Israeli negotiating team to meet with mediators on Thursday. The premier’s aides explained that Netanyahu wanted to first secure US President Joe Biden’s blessing for Israel to toughen its demands.
But that announcement when Netanyahu’s office expected the meeting with Biden to take place on Monday. Now that it is likely to only take place on Thursday, it is unclear whether the Israeli negotiating team will also be held up.
In their meeting with Netanyahu, the American hostage families told the premier he shouldn’t wait until Thursday to dispatch the negotiating team.
The Monday evening meeting with Netanyahu also included relatives of hostages who are not American, along with other Israeli families impacted by the Israel-Hamas war. The families of the eight American hostages are still seeking a private audience with Netanyahu.
US official says White House now expecting Biden to meet with Netanyahu on Thursday
A US official tells The Times of Israel that the White House “expects” US President Joe Biden to meet with visiting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.
Biden is slated to return to the White House on Tuesday after quarantining for five days with COVID.
Biden will also meet this week with a group of relatives of American hostages being held in Gaza, a representative of the families tells The Times of Israel, adding that the timing still needs to be finalized.
Schedule update shows Biden will return to White House on Tuesday
WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden will return to the White House on Tuesday after spending nearly a week at his personal residence recovering from COVID and the first time since dropping his reelection bid, according to his official schedule.
Biden is expected to leave his beach home in Delaware on Tuesday afternoon and arrive at the White House at 2:30 p.m., according to the schedule.
Families of US-Israeli hostages say they urged Biden’s aides to keep pressing PM for deal
The families of the American-Israeli hostages urged the Biden administration to continue pressuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a hostage-ceasefire deal during their meeting Monday with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and White House Mideast czar Brett McGurk, according to a readout issued by the captives’ relatives.
Echoing a message they shared with reporters during a briefing earlier in the day, the families told Sullivan and McGurk that they expect Netanyahu to announce that he has finalized the deal to bring their family members home during his address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.
“Anything less, they said, would constitute an abject failure of his trip to Washington,” the statement from the families says.
During the hour-long White House meeting, the sides discussed the ongoing negotiations to release the remaining 120 hostages, including eight US citizens. The families “emphasized that there is a solid deal on the table and that securing it hinges on the political determination and cooperation from both sides involved,” the readout adds.
The American hostage families thank members of the administration for their support, including Sullivan, who has met with them 12 times.
Kamala Harris aide says VP will meet Netanyahu at White House, doesn’t announce time
WASHINGTON — US Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week at the White House, her office reiterates as the premier’s separate sit-down with US President Joe Biden is in jeopardy due to the latter’s bout with COVID-19.
Harris’s office and National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said last week that the vice president would meet Netanyahu when he was in town. In a statement, Harris’s office is now offering more information regarding the meeting, but does not however announce a time for the sit-down.
The statement attributed to a Harris aide says the vice president will use the meeting with Netanyahu to convey “her view that it is time for the war to end in a way in which Israel is secure, all hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza ends and the Palestinian people can enjoy their right to dignity, freedom, and self-determination.”
Netanyahu’s office announced Sunday that he had agreed to dispatch Israel’s hostage negotiating team to meet with Qatari and Egyptian mediators on Thursday, and the Harris aide says the vice president will raise the ongoing efforts to secure a hostage-ceasefire deal when meeting the premier.
“We anticipate she will underscore her commitment to ensure Israel can defend itself from threats from Iran and Iranian-backed militias, including Lebanese Hezbollah and Hamas. She will again condemn Hamas’ brutal terrorist attack on October 7, and horrific sexual violence. She will reiterate her deep concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the loss of innocent life,” the statement from the Harris aide says.
The vice president’s office goes on to confirm that she will not preside over Netanyahu’s Wednesday speech to a joint session of Congress, as she will be in Indianapolis for a previously scheduled event. “Her travel to Indianapolis should not be interpreted as a change in her position with regard to Israel.”
Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Ben Cardin will preside over the address along with House Speaker Mike Johnson, the former’s office confirms to The Times of Israel.
The statement from Harris’s aide also makes a point to highlight the vice president’s pro-Israel record, amid a drumbeat of media reports that have presented her as a more critical foil to Biden.
“Throughout her career, the vice president has had an unwavering commitment to the security of Israel. That remains true today,” the aide says.
“Since October 7, she has been deeply engaged with Israeli officials as part of our administration’s support for Israel as it works to eliminate the threat of Hamas,” the aude says, pointing to calls and meetings she has held with President Isaac Herzog and former war cabinet minister Benny Gantz along with over 20 calls between Biden and Netanyahu that she has also joined.
The aide points out that she has repeatedly condemned Hamas’s October 7 onslaught and expressed support for Israel’s right to self defense.
She has also met with former hostages and hosted an event at the White House that highlighted Hamas’s use of sexual violence, the Harris aide adds.
Biden says COVID to keep him at home ‘for next 3-4 days,’ jeopardizing sit-down with Netanyahu
WASHINGTON — US President Joe Biden says he will be “out of people’s hair for the next three-four days” due to COVID, in what could jeopardize chances for his scheduled White House meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
A hoarse Biden makes the revelation while phoning in to a campaign event for the new Democratic presumptive presidential nominee Kamala Harris. These are his first public comments since he published a letter about his decision to not seek re-election on X, where he subsequently endorsed his vice president.
Netanyahu’s office early last week announced that the prime minister would depart Israel on Sunday in order to meet Biden at the White House on Monday. But Biden tested positive for COVID-19 last Wednesday, leading Netanyahu’s office to push his departure until Monday morning, while declaring that the White House meeting would take place on Tuesday.
Biden still needs to test negative for COVID, though, and will not return to Washington until he does.
Given that Biden was still in Delaware Monday evening, Netanyahu’s office acknowledged to reporters that the Tuesday meeting was likely in jeopardy.
The White House has never announced a time for the meeting, even as Netanyahu’s office continues doing so. The Biden administration sufficed with saying that the president planned to meet Netanyahu while the prime minister is in town. It said Vice President Kamala Harris would also meet with Netanyahu but that sit-down hasn’t been finalized either.
The three to four day timeframe that Biden offered would mean he wouldn’t be available until Thursday or Friday. Netanyahu had planned to return to Israel on Thursday evening after giving his speech to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday afternoon.
However, the premier is also trying to schedule a meeting with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who Politico reports will likely not be free until after a own campaign rally in North Carolina on Wednesday evening.
It’s unclear where that meeting would be held if Trump agrees, but a sit-down with both the Republican nominee and Biden on the same day might be difficult to organize for both scheduling and political reasons, as Netanyahu seeks to avoid alienating either Republicans or Democrats.
Because he doesn’t fly over the Sabbath, the prime minister will have to stay in the US for through at least Saturday if he doesn’t leave for Israel by Thursday night, in what would make this a nearly weeklong trip abroad in the middle of a war.
Biden vows to keep working to end Gaza war, return the hostages in first remarks since quitting race
US President Joe Biden vows to continue working to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza during his final months in office, in his first public remarks since ending his reelection bid.
“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,” Biden says in a call into his campaign headquarters, which has transitioned to supporting Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I think we’re on the verge of being able to do that.”
Phoning in from his beach home,, Biden urges his supporters to embrace Harris, saying his decision to drop out of the race was the “right thing” to have done.
“I want to say to the team, embrace her. She’s the best,” Biden says.
“I know yesterday’s news is surprising and it’s hard for you to hear, but it was the right thing to do,” he says of his decision to drop out.
Biden calls in to Kamala Harris' campaign event and says dropping out was "the right decision." pic.twitter.com/7N5OXoi0Jn
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) July 22, 2024
Enhanced security measures in place at DC hotel where Netanyahu is staying
Security is tight at the Watergate Hotel in Washington as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s convoy arrives.
Police have shut down streets around the hotel and erected two lines of black fences around the facility, a measure not taken during previous visits.