President Joe Biden chided a journalist who asked him if he could complete a hostage deal before leaving office, asking if a camera could “be hit in the head.”
News Israel 13 reporter Neria Kraus tweeted a video of her interaction with the president, who arrived in the Oval Office on Tuesday during his meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
“Do you think you will be able to reach an agreement on hostages at the end of your term?” he asked, citing the 101 hostages still held in Gaza.
Biden, referring to the dozen television cameramen and photographers who were in the room with her, responded: ‘DDo you think the camera behind you can hit you in the head?
President Joe Biden shakes hands with Israeli President Isaac Herzog
Biden then looked at his notes and began his introductory remarks to Herzog.
It’s not clear how to interpret your answer.
Biden, in the past, has said the release of the hostages is a top priority. But he only has a few months left in the White House before Trump is sworn in on January 20, 2025.
The two presidents were expected to discuss the war in Gaza during their meeting.
The Biden administration also wants Israel to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, where 43,665 have died in the war; 103,076 have been injured; and thousands of civilians are now refugees.
The UN relief and works agency warned that the already low levels of aid reaching Gaza had declined further, with the situation in the territory’s north described as “catastrophic”.
Biden has been trying to reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza before President-elect Trump takes office.
While in Washington DC, Herzog will also meet with Representative Elise Stefanik, whom Trump has chosen to be the next US ambassador to the United Nations, and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime Trump ally and adviser.
Israel has already reached out to the president-elect. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had spoken with Trump three times since the Nov. 5 election.
News Israel 13 reporter Neria Kraus asked the president about a hostage deal
Aside from his agile response, Biden he did not answer any other questions from journalists in the room and let Herzog do most of the talking.
The Israeli president did not mince his words. He called Iran an “evil empire” and said it is a “major driver of anti-Semitism.”
He brought a gift to President Biden, an artifact from the foot of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem that has the word “Joseph.”
President Isaac Herzog is the brother of Michael Herzog, who has served as Israel’s ambassador to the United States since November 2021.