The Israeli television reporter whose question about a potential hostage deal to President Biden sparked an awkward rebuke on Tuesday opened up about the now-viral exchange in an interview with The Post.
Israel 13 News anchorwoman and US correspondent Neria Kraus said she believes the lame-duck president’s response shows he realizes time is running out on his watch to help broker a much-desired deal to free 101 hostages still held by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.
Kraus, 30, was in the Oval Office with other journalists and camera operators as Biden and Israeli President Isaac Herzog took questions. She asked, “President Biden, do you think we can get a hostage deal by the end of your term?”
In Kraus’s video — posted on X — an irritated Biden snapped: “Do you think you can keep from getting hit in the head by a — a camera behind you?”
Kraus told The Post Tuesday night that Biden’s terse comeback indicates “that due to the political reality, he can’t say a clear ‘yes.’”
That political reality includes not only Biden’s abrupt departure from the 2024 campaign but also Kamala Harris’s stunning defeat by ex-President Donald Trump.
A large number of Jewish voters deserted the Democrats this year, as did Muslim Americans, who slashed the amount of support they gave Harris to a fraction of what Biden attracted from the bloc four years ago.
And in less than 70 days, Trump takes office having named a pro-Israel ambassador, Mike Huckabee, to represent the US in Jerusalem, alongside his anticipated Secretary of State, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., another staunch supporter of the Jewish state. Both appointments, if confirmed, would change the face of US encounters with Israel’s current and future leaders.
All this could have been weighing on Biden when he shot back at the young journalist, to whom he was previously kinder, according to Kraus.
“I can tell that President Biden is committed to releasing the hostages; he’s done a lot, and he almost got there a few months ago,” the journalist said.
But “almost” doesn’t bring the hostages home, she conceded.
“It’s been more than a year – more than 400 days, and I read online that some people think that it’s legitimate to stop talking about it,” Kraus said. “For me, this is not an option. I will continue to ask about the hostages again and again until they’re all back home.”
She said, “Hamas is still viciously holding 101 hostages in Gaza, people that were taken from their homes and beds. Some of them are Americans.”
Kraus said viewers and colleagues in Israel praised her putting the matter before Biden. Each group said “the question was very important, and they asked [me] about what happened at the Oval Office,” she said.
“But the most important comments came from families of hostages, who wanted to talk and wanted more details” about the encounter Kraus said.
The Post contacted the White House for comment but did not immediately get a response.
