Biden hosts families of American hostages held by Hamas as he navigates first breaks with Netanyahu

Washington (CNN) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday hosted family members of all eight Americans still held hostage from the Hamas attack on Israel more than two months ago, taking time during what is shaping up to be a key week for his first in-person meeting with the families.

The sit-down comes one day after fractures began to show in Biden’s decades-long relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, all while the president hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House. Zelensky’s visit was meant to demonstrate Biden’s continued support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia while funding for crucial military and economic aid for the country seems stalled in Congress.

It also comes a day before his national security adviser heads to Israel on Thursday for meetings with Netanyahu and the Israeli war cabinet to try and smooth over some of those emerging differences.

Biden also faces crises much closer to home. Hunter Biden, the president’s twice- indicted son, appeared outside the Capitol on Wednesday, assuring reporters that his father had nothing to do with his business dealings that have come under congressional and legal scrutiny.

The younger Biden declined to appear under subpoena for a closed-door deposition that is part of the GOP-led impeachment investigation into his father. Hunter Biden instead said he wanted to testify publicly. His refusal to appear prompted House Oversight Chair James Comer and Rep. Jim Jordan to announce they would initiate contempt proceedings.

The political and personal stakes are high for the president and present another opportunity to confront one of his chief political challenges: Showing voters concerned about his age that the 81-year-old president still has the stamina and capacity to deftly navigate multiple high-stakes crises simultaneously.

‘No better friend’

Speaking to reporters after meeting with Biden, relatives of American hostages held in Gaza described the meeting as “terrific,” saying the president made clear that his administration is committed to bringing their loved ones home.

“We felt before, and we were only reinforced in seeing and believing, that we could have no better friend in Washington or in the White House than President Biden himself,” said Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of 35-year-old Sagui Dekel-Chen, who disappeared October 7.

Dekel-Chen and other families declined to provide details about their talk with the president – including whether they were presented with any updated information about their loved ones – saying it was a private conversation.

Last week, some of the family members of those held hostages told CNN they were hoping the White House might embrace making a separate deal to get their family members released – without Israel’s involvement. Such a deal is considered to be a longshot; Russia was able to cut a separate deal with Hamas to get its citizens released but their circumstances were seen to be unique

Dekel-Chen said he and other relatives have been in “frequent, very transparent contact” with US officials. Family members previously told CNN that they found the Israeli government’s communications with them to be lacking.

Liz Naftali, great aunt of Abigail Edan, the four-year-old Israeli American hostage released by Hamas last month, thanked members of the administration for centering the humanity of those still being held hostage.

“And that is what the president and Secretary Blinken understand – is that they are just not numbers and they’re just not faces, they are sons,” she said. “They are sons. They are grandparents, they are mothers, and that is what the president and his team understand.”

Public rifts in a decades-long friendship spill into view

While the relatives spoke positively about their discussion with Biden, some had previously sharply criticized the Israeli government for what they described as a lack of communication and direction.

Biden also was very candid in his observations on Israeli politics in a fundraiser this week, offering Netanyahu a reproach in a way that he has rarely done since the war began on October 7. The two have known each other for more than five decades.

“I think he has to change, and with this government, this government in Israel is making it very difficult for him to move,” Biden said during a private reception on Tuesday, calling Netanyahu’s government the “most conservative government in Israel’s history.

Deaths in Gaza have surpassed 18,600 people. More than 50,000 have been injured, the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health said Wednesday.

Biden warned the rising civilian deaths could lead to a downslide in international support for Israel because of “indiscriminate bombing.”

Netanyahu also admitted Tuesday that he and Biden have differing views on what should happen to Gaza after the war, a rare public acknowledgment of the difference of opinion between the two.

International support for Israel continues to erode. The United Nations General Assembly voted Tuesday to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, an apparent rebuke to the United States, which has resisted calls to support a ceasefire.

But Netanyahu said he is determined to see his battle against Hamas until the group’s destruction. Speaking to an IDF commander in Gaza following an operation that resulted in the deaths of at least nine Israeli soldiers in a single incident, Netanyahu brushed off the international pressure.

“Nothing will stop us,” he told the commander. “We go to the end – to victory.”

White House tries to explain Biden’s ‘indiscriminate bombing’ comment

Pressed about Biden’s “indiscriminate bombing” comment, the White House on Wednesday struggled to square those remarks with the administration’s continued insistence that Israel’s “intent” is to limit civilian casualties.

Kirby, who was asked multiple times by reporters at the White House press briefing about the president’s blunt claim that Israel was beginning to lose global support in the war, repeatedly emphasized that the administration sees Israel’s intent to minimize civilian deaths, despite Biden himself saying Israel was not being deliberate and careful.

Asked by CNN’s MJ Lee why the White House insists on saying Israel has the intent to minimize civilian casualties, Kirby responded that “sometimes in war … the best laid plans don’t get executed exactly the way you want.”

“We know that from bitter experience and our own military, no matter how precise and targeted we tried to be in Iraq and Afghanistan, there were times when we caused civilian casualties as well,” Kirby said.

He added that there was “a clear intent by the Israelis – an intent that they have admitted to publicly – that they are doing everything they can to reduce civilian casualties.”

Kirby was also asked about Biden’s remarks from Tuesday that he believed Netanyahu was having difficulty navigating necessary changes with his governing coalition.

“The president realizes that Israel is a powerful, vibrant democracy and any change in the government is going to have to be determined by the Israeli people,” Kirby responded.

He did not elaborate on what Biden meant by his comment.

Sullivan heads to Israel

Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Biden’s national security adviser this week amid those first hints of discord. Jake Sullivan will travel to Israel and meet with Netanyahu, his war cabinet, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog Thursday and Friday.

Sullivan will discuss the return of hostages taken by Hamas, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told CNN’s Poppy Harlow in an interview Wednesday.

“We’re not going to stop trying to get them home,” Kirby said on “CNN This Morning.” “Hour by hour, literally, we are trying to get more information about them and to get them, get to get a deal in place where we can get them back home.”

The eight Americans are among more than 100 hostages who remain under Hamas control.

Sullivan will conduct “extremely serious conversations” with Israeli officials during his visit, Kirby said. Sullivan will discuss with the Israelis “efforts to be more surgical and more precise and to reduce harm to civilians,” Kirby said.

“That is an aim of ours. And the Israelis say it is an aim of theirs,” he added. “But it’s the results that count.”

Kirby said the US has concerns about Israel’s handling of its offensive against Hamas — as demonstrated by Biden’s remarks to Democratic donors Tuesday — and has raised those with Israeli officials.

“The president yesterday reflected the reality of global opinion, which also matters. Our support for Israel is not diminished. But we have had concerns,” Kirby said. “And we have expressed those concerns about the prosecution of this military campaign, even while acknowledging that it’s Hamas that started this, and it’s Hamas that is continuing it.”

Ahead of arriving in Israel, Sullivan stopped in Saudi Arabia where he met the country’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a person familiar with the matter said.

In Saudi Arabia, he planned to discuss the broader diplomatic efforts undertaken by the Biden administration to maintain stability in the region, the official said, including efforts to deter Houthi attacks in the Red Sea. He’ll also attempt to build on work that had been underway prior to the October 7 attacks on normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which had included steps toward building peace with the Palestinians.

A spokesperson for the US State Department said Wednesday there “needs to be a legitimate answer for the aspirations of the Palestinian people” at the end of the conflict.

This story has been updated with additional developments on Wednesday.

CNN’s Nikki Carvajal, Samantha Waldenberg and Donald Judd contributed to this report.

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2023 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.