Netanyahu To Meet Biden & Harris To Discuss Hostage-For-Ceasefire Deal

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold talks with US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in separate meetings as he seeks to both maintain Washington's support for the war effort in the short term, and build bridges with Biden's potential successor over the longer term.

• Netanyahu meets with Biden at the White House at 1300ET (1800BST, 1900CET), before holding talks with Harris at 1630ET (2130BST, 2230CET). BBC: "Mr Netanyahu is expected to discuss Gaza, a ceasefire with Hamas and a possible hostage release. "
• The meetings come a day after Netanyahu's speechto a joint session of the US Congress on 24 July. The PM was criticised by many Democrats, a large number of which boycotted the event. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) called the event "by far the worst presentation of any foreign dignitary" to a joint session of Congress.
• Biden, involved in frontline US politics since the 1970s with decades of experience in the foreign policy establishment, is seen as a vociferous defender of Israel's right to defend itself from attack, but is expected to push Netanyahu towards a ceasefire agreement.
• Harris has expressed steadfast support for Israel, but to the cost of some backing on the left of the Democratic party. It remains to be seen whether a prospective Harris White House would be so fulsome in its military backing of the Netanyahu gov't.