Biden tells Netanyahu he wants fighting de-escalated
GAZA/JERUSALEM/ ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — U.S. President Joe Biden pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday to reduce tensions in the Gaza conflict on the path to a ceasefire, a White House spokeswoman said.
Netanyahu said earlier he could not set a timeframe for an end to more than 10 days of hostilities as Israel’s military pounded the Palestinian enclave with air strikes and Gaza’s ruling Hamas militants unleashed new cross-border rocket attacks.
But an Egyptian security source said the two sides had agreed to a ceasefire in principle after help from mediators, although details were still being negotiated in secret amid public denials of a deal to prevent it from collapsing.
Palestinian medical officials said that since fighting began on May 10, 223 people have been killed in aerial bombardments which have destroyed roads, buildings and other infrastructure, and worsened the already dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Israeli authorities put the death toll at 12 in Israel, where repeated rocket attacks have caused panic and sent people rushing into shelters. Regional and U.s.-led diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire have intensified but so far failed.
Netanyahu has hailed what he has described as support from the United States, Israel’s main ally, for a right to self-defence in battling back against rocket strikes from Gaza.
But in a telephone call to Netanyahu, Biden put the Israeli leader on notice that it was time to lower the intensity of the conflict, in which civilians on both sides have been killed.
“The two leaders had a detailed discussion on the state of events in Gaza, Israel’s progress in degrading the capabilities of Hamas and other terrorist elements, and ongoing diplomatic efforts by regional governments and the United States,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jeanpierre told reporters.
“The president conveyed to the prime minister that he expected a significant deescalation today on the path to a ceasefire.”
There was no immediate Israeli comment.
Earlier on Wednesday, Netanyahu made no mention of any halt to the fighting in public remarks at a briefing to foreign ambassadors to Israel, saying his country was engaged in “forceful deterrence” to prevent future conflict with Hamas.
In remarks reported by Israeli media from a closed question-and-answer session, he was quoted as saying: “We’re not standing with a stopwatch. We want to achieve the goals of the operation. Previous operations lasted a long time so it is not possible to set a timeframe.”
In response to Biden’s deescalation call, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassam said those who sought to restore calm must “compel Israel to end its aggression in Jerusalem and its bombardment of Gaza.”
Once that happened, Qassam said, “there can be room to talk about arrangements to restore calm.”