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WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden will sit down today with US negotiators pushing for a hostage-release deal in the Israel-Hamas war, the White House said, after the deaths of six captives in Gaza, including an American citizen.

Biden’s official schedule was revised to make time for the White House meeting, which will also be attended by Vice-President Kamala Harris, who is running to succeed him in November’s presidential election.

A statement announcing Biden’s updated schedule said he and Harris would meet today with the US hostage deal negotiating team following the murder of American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages by Hamas on Saturday, and discuss efforts to drive towards a deal that secures the release of the remaining hostages.

The US, along with fellow mediators Egypt and Qatar, has spent months pushing for a hostage-prisoner exchange and ceasefire in the war in Gaza.

Gunmen seized 251 hostages during the Oct 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war, 97 of whom remain in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.

Scores of hostages were released during a one-week truce in November, with campaigners and family members believing another deal is the best option to ensure the rest return.

A nationwide strike in Israel aimed at ramping up pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to secure the release of the remaining captives was set to begin today.

Hostage relatives and advocates have accused Netanyahu’s administration of not doing enough to bring the captives back alive, and have called for an immediate ceasefire to rescue the rest.