Biden spoke with Netanyahu Wednesday at a critical moment in Gaza talks

By Alex Marquardt, Benjamin Brown, Arlette Saenz and Oren Liebermann, CNN

(CNN) — President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday about “the ceasefire and hostage release deal and diplomatic efforts to de-escalate regional tensions,” White House spokesperson Emilie Simons posted on X.

Vice President Kamala Harris also joined the call, which came at a critical moment in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier this week in Israel that it may be the last opportunity for a deal.

Biden made the call from Santa Ynez, California, where he is vacationing this week.

A major sticking point in the ongoing negotiations is the future of the Philadelphi corridor in southern Gaza.

On Wednesday, Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that Israel’s withdrawal from the 8.7-mile strip of land along the border between Gaza and Egypt would be an element of the proposal agreed to by Netanyahu.

Blinken and other US officials have declined to detail the “bridging proposal” the US laid out last week, which is designed to bring Israel and Hamas closer to a ceasefire agreement. But Hamas insists that the IDF withdraw fully from Gaza and that citizens must be allowed to return home. Israeli officials counter that a solution must be found to better control the Egypt-Gaza border, which has long been used for smuggling.

But the prime minister’s office quickly denied any intention to leave the area, which Israeli troops seized in May.

“Israel will insist on the achievement of all of its objectives for the war, as they have been defined by the Security Cabinet, including that Gaza never again constitutes a security threat to Israel. This requires securing the southern border,” his office said in a statement on Wednesday, describing Kan’s reporting as “incorrect.”

The statement also appeared to contradict comments by Blinken on Tuesday, when he said that Netanyahu had agreed to the bridging proposal and its proposed troop withdrawals.

“The agreement is very clear on the schedule and the locations of IDF withdrawals from Gaza, and Israel has agreed to that,” said Blinken in remarks to reporters before departing Qatar.

Blinken was speaking in Qatar at the end of a short trip to the region as the US makes what it hopes is a final push for all sides to agree to a ceasefire agreement that would halt the fighting in Gaza and free the Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

The top US diplomat said Monday in Israel that the onus would be on Hamas to also agree to the latest proposal to bridge the outstanding issues.

A US senior administration official has previously criticized Netanyahu’s reported comments about not withdrawing as “maximalist statements” that are “not constructive to getting a ceasefire deal across the finish line.”

CIA Director Bill Burns and other senior negotiators are expected to return to Cairo for further high-level talks this weekend.

Meanwhile, the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group arrived in the Middle East on Wednesday, according to US Central Command, bolstering US forces as the region braces for a potential Iranian attack.

The aircraft carrier was ordered to the Middle East in early August in the wake of the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Iranian officials vowed to retaliate against Israel for the assassination.

On August 11, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the carrier and its accompanying destroyers to accelerate their transit to the Middle East amid widespread concerns that Iran may be preparing for a large-scale, coordinated attack against Israel with its regional proxies.

On Tuesday, Iran said that its response to Israel must be “carefully calibrated” to avoid derailing the ceasefire negotiations. But Iran’s mission to the UN made it clear that a response was still coming. “The timing, conditions, and manner of Iran’s response will be meticulously orchestrated to ensure that it occurs at a moment of maximum surprise,” said the Iranian mission in a statement to CNN.

The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group joins the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group. The USS Theodore Roosevelt is expected to remain in the region for several more days before it returns to the US, according to three US defense officials.

The Pentagon previously announced that the USS Abraham Lincoln would replace the USS Theodore Roosevelt.

The US also has the USS Wasp Amphibious Ready Group in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, several destroyers and the USS Georgia, a guided missile submarine.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

CNN’s Jennifer Hansler contributed reporting.

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