Biden says Netanyahu not doing enough to secure hostage and ceasefire deal as he nears presenting a final proposal

Washington (CNN) —& President Joe Biden said Monday Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not doing enough to& secure the release of hostages& held by Hamas and added he is “close” to presenting a final deal to negotiators& working to strike a& hostage and ceasefire agreement in Gaza.“We’re very close to that,” he said when asked by CNN if he was planning to present a final proposal.The president’s comments came as he was returning to the White House to huddle with American officials who have been& working to secure a deal& that would pair a release of hostages held in Gaza with a pause in the fighting.Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee for president, was also planning to attend the meeting before joining Biden for a campaign event in Pittsburgh.The hostage release efforts gained new urgency over the weekend with the discovery of the bodies of six hostages in a tunnel beneath the southern Gaza city of Rafah, including the Israeli-American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin.The deaths have sparked outrage inside Israel, leading to enormous protests and a nationwide strike Monday. Demonstrators have called on Netanyahu to put aside political ambitions to strike an agreement that would allow hostages to be...