Netanyahu ‘ungrateful’ to US, lied about Gaza hostage deal: US official

ANKARA

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “ungrateful” towards the US and has lied about a Gaza hostage deal, a senior US official told Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

The official said Netanyahu disregards the amount of aid Washington has provided since the outbreak of the conflict in the Gaza Strip some 10 months ago.

"[US President Joe] Biden realized that Netanyahu was lying to him about the hostages," the official told Haaretz.

"He's not saying it publicly yet, but in the meeting between them, he specifically told him, 'Stop bullshitting me.'"

Netanyahu had a phone call with Biden on Thursday, a few days after the Israeli prime minister concluded his visit to the US to rally up support for his ongoing war on Gaza.

The US official called the two conversions between Biden and Netanyahu “difficult” and “tense.”

"Netanyahu is trying to prolong the war instead of focusing on how to get to a hostage deal," the official said. "It's making it harder for us to continue supporting Israel over time."

On Friday, a senior member of Israel’s negotiating team told Haaretz that Israeli defense chiefs believe Netanyahu was not interested in a hostage deal with Hamas.

Indirect talks between Israel and Hamas mediated by the US, Qatar, and Egypt have failed to agree on a permanent cease-fire that allows a prisoner swap between Israelis and Palestinians.

So far, efforts by the three countries to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas have been hampered by Netanyahu's rejection of Hamas' call to halt hostilities.

“Everyone is convinced that Israel's new additions will blow up the talks, and, conversely, that we have the security tools to handle a deal that doesn't include them,” the US official said.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an attack last October by Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

Nearly 39,600 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and nearly 91,400 injured, according to local health authorities.

Almost 10 months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.