“No,” is President Biden’s answer to a reporter asking today if Prime Minister Netanyahu is “doing enough” to release the hostages. What an obnoxious statement. The White House is reportedly readying a “final” take-it-or-leave-it offer for a Hamas-Israel deal. Seems pressure is about to grow on the Israeli government to free 100 women, men, and children held by Hamas for nearly a year inside tunnels in Gaza. 

The hearts of all Americans go out to the Israeli families who are so eloquently sharing their grief. Millions of Americans embrace them. Criticism of the government, though, reminds us of the jibe about a man who loses a coin in the dark and goes to look for it under the streetlamp, because that is where the light is. The enemy is keeping the hostages in dark tunnels, not at Jerusalem. Hamas is part of a seven-front Iranian war to eradicate the Jewish state.

So the pressure is due not on Mr. Netanyahu but Yehya Sinwar. After news of the murder of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Mr. Biden and Vice President Harris issued statements that do indeed blame Hamas for the killing of an American. Ms. Harris even suggested the terrorist threat “must be eliminated, and Hamas cannot control Gaza.” Yet the administration’s political pressure on Israel to make additional concessions would ease the military pressure on Hamas. 

In Israel, the news about Hamas’s latest barbarity is followed by the largest anti-government protest since October 7. Mr. Netanyahu is facing a choice. To appease Washington and the protesters in Tel Aviv, he could temporarily cede the Philadelphi corridor, which he doubts would be temporary, and risk a rapid rearming of Hamas. Or he could ignore the noise, risk deaths of additional hostages, and contradict the duty pidyon shvuyim — to free captives. 

Hamas’s already low incentive to release hostages diminishes when global pressure on Mr. Netanyahu intensifies. Washington has endlessly praised the diplomatic efforts of Hamas’s sponsors — Qatar and Turkey, and Hamas-enabler Egypt. “No,” Mr. Biden could have long ago said if asked, as he never is, if they do enough for the hostages. America has enough leverage to push these Mideast allies to force Hamas’s hand. Enabling Iran is unhelpful. 

Instead, the Biden-Harris administration uses America’s leverage on Israel to accept yet another “final” offer. Doha, Cairo, and Ankara will dutifully relay it to their Hamas guests. As always, Mr. Sinwar will say “no,” confident of more Israeli concessions to come. Why not? After previous proposals, Secretary Blinken insisted that Israel has accepted the latest deal terms and called on Hamas to accept them too. Mr. Sinwar said no, and negotiations resumed.  

So where does Mr. Biden come off shifting the onus to Mr. Netanyahu — and Ms. Harris hinting she’d up the ante. Together with her national security guru, Philip Gordon, she is reportedly planning a “new direction“ in America’s relations with Israel. If elected, she “could be open to imposing conditions on some aid to Israel,” the Washington Post reports. The Iran-appeasement wing of the Democratic party is set to dominate Ms. Harris’s “first day.” 

Many in America and Israel blame the deaths of the six hostages on Mr. Netanyahu. The most cynical Americans even suggest, with scant evidence, that Mr. Netanyahu conspired with President Trump to postpone any deal for after November. We believe that the party to blame is Hamas and its Iranian backers who are eager to inflame the entire Mideast. The White House is clumsily trying to help, but is it enough? To quote Mr. Biden: No.