President Joe Biden, who announced over the weekend that he would not seek re-election, opened the public portion of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House today by deferring to his colleague.

"Welcome back, Mr. Prime Minister. We got lots to talk about, we should get to it," Biden said in the Oval Office. "The floor is yours."

"Mr. President, we’ve known each other for 40 years and you’ve known every Israeli prime minister, for 50 years, since Golda Meir," Netanyahu said. "So from a proud Jewish Zionist to a proud Irish-American Zionist, I want to thank you for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the State of Israel."

"I look forward to discussing with you today and working with you in the months ahead on the great issues before us," the premier added.

Biden responded, "I look forward to it as well. By the way, that first meeting with prime minister Golda Meir? She had an assistant sit next to me, a man named Rabin. That's how far back it goes. I was only 12 then."

Following the remarks, they retreated for a meeting that also included US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, White House Middle East adviser Brett McGurk, presidential envoy Amos Hochstein and US Ambassador to Israel Jack Lew.

Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, National Security Advisor Tzachi Hanegbi and Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog, among other officials, participated for the Israeli side.

The meeting between the Americans and the Israelis lasted about an hour and a half, the Prime Minister's Office said after the gathering concluded.

After the meeting, the White House said that Biden and Netanyahu "discussed developments in Gaza and the ongoing negotiations on the ceasefire and hostage release deal in detail."

The US president "expressed the need to close the remaining gaps, finalize the deal as soon as possible, bring the hostages home and reach a durable end to the war in Gaza," the White House said. "The president also raised the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the need to remove any obstacles to the flow of aid and restoring basic services for those in need and the critical importance of protecting civilian lives during military operations."

"President Biden reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis," it added.

Netanyahu was invited to sign the guest book in the Roosevelt Room as part of his visit to the White House. "To President Biden, with deep appreciation for your decades of friendship and support for the State of Israel, and all the best wishes," the longtime Israeli leader wrote.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signs the guestbook in the White House's Roosevelt Room on July 25, 2024. Credit: Amos Ben-Gershom/GPO.

The visit marked Netanyahu's first invitation to the White House since he was re-elected in November 2022. The meeting was also the first time the two leaders met in person since Biden's wartime visit to Israel in October.

A senior US official told reporters ahead of the meeting that Biden would stress "his ironclad commitment to Israel's security, the very serious threats from Iran and from Iranian proxy and terrorist groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis."

Ongoing efforts to secure a hostages-for-ceasefire-and-terrorists-release agreement with the Hamas terrorist organization were expected to take center stage during the meeting, the official said.

"We'll also talk, I'm sure in-depth, about developments in Gaza and the negotiations on the ceasefire and hostage release deal, which we believe is in the closing stages and it's reaching a point that we believe a deal is closable and it's time to move to close that agreement," the official said.

After the meeting, Biden and Netanyahu are scheduled to meet with relatives of Americans held captive by Hamas. One hundred and fifteen hostages remain in Gaza, including eight US nationals.

Later on Thursday, Netanyahu met with US Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden has endorsed for the Democratic nomination after dropping out of the 2024 election on Sunday.

Former President Donald Trump plans to host the Israeli prime minister at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, where Netanyahu and his wife will stay for Shabbat