US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have met with US negotiators of the Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal at the White House, during which they discussed the “next steps” in the ongoing efforts, Anadolu reports according to a statement from the White House.

The statement said Biden “expressed his devastation and outrage at the murder, and reaffirmed the importance of holding Hamas’s leaders accountable”. It added that Biden and Harris received an update from the American negotiation team “on the status of the bridging proposal” outlined by the US, Qatar, and Egypt.

“They discussed next steps in the ongoing effort to secure the release of hostages, including continuing consultations with co-mediators Qatar and Egypt,” it added.

During the meeting, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, CIA Director Bill Burns and Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, were present, among others.

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