Biden Reportedly Sours on Self-Serving Netanyahu

Last week, Biden administration officials said an agreement to secure a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was close, with only minor details to iron out. But Saturday's discovery that six Israeli hostages were killed in Gaza as Israeli forces moved in "changed everything," one Israeli official tells Politico. And now, for the families of remaining hostages and the 2 million Palestinians living amid death and displacement, "the stakes have never been higher, and the outlook never bleaker," reports the Washington Post. The latest:

• A price to pay: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed revenge. As he said Monday, per CBS News, "Hamas will pay a very heavy price for this." But some believe Netanyahu is deliberately trying to derail a ceasefire agreement as it could "weaken him politically," per the Post.

• The sticking point: Officials from mediating countries agree Netanyahu's insistence on keeping troops in the Philadelphi Corridor, a strip of land along Gaza's southern border with Egypt, is preventing ceasefire talks from progressing.
• Philadelphi Corridor: Netanyahu claims keeping troops there is necessary to prevent Hamas from smuggling weapons. "The Axis of Evil needs the Philadelphi Corridor, and for the same reason we must control the Philadelphi Corridor," he said Monday.
• Protests: For many in Israel, the safe return of the remaining hostages is far more important. Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets to express this view. Israel says there are 97 hostages held in Gaza, though only 64 are thought to be alive, per the Post.

• Hamas' take: The group says it will only accept a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Philadelphi Corridor. It has also suggested hostages "will return to their families in coffins" as a result of "Netanyahu's insistence on releasing the prisoners through military pressure, instead of concluding a deal."
• Egypt: The country isn't happy with Israel's presence in the corridor, either, saying it violates a 1979 treaty. Egypt also feels slighted by Israel's suggestions that it isn't doing enough to prevent smuggling. On Tuesday, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry accused Netanyahu of using Egypt "to distract Israeli public opinion and obstruct reaching a ceasefire deal."
• US: Asked Monday whether Netanyahu was doing enough to secure a ceasefire, President Biden said, "No." According to Politico's sources, Biden has grown "sour" on Netanyahu, whom he believes is extending the war to remain in power. He's expected to push for a final proposal to be presented to the two sides as soon as this week, per the Post.

(More Israel-Hamas war stories.)