US President Joe Biden said he thought there should be a humanitarian “pause” in the Israel-Hamas war, after his campaign speech on Wednesday evening was interrupted by a protester.
“I think we need a pause,” Biden said.
The call was a subtle departure for Biden and top aides, who throughout the Middle East crisis have been steadfast in stating they would not dictate how Israel operates militarily in response to Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks.
Photo: AP
Yet Biden has faced growing pressure from human rights groups, fellow world leaders and other Democratic Party members, who say that Israel’s bombardment of Gaza is collective punishment and that a ceasefire is needed.
Biden commented that he was exerting pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to give Palestinians a brief reprieve from the relentless military operation that has left Gaza mired in a roiling humanitarian crisis.
The White House has yet to call for a ceasefire.
Hundreds of foreign nationals and dozens of seriously injured Palestinians were allowed to leave Gaza after more than three weeks under siege.
The first people to leave Gaza crossed into Egypt.
Israeli Ambassador to the US Michael Herzog on Wednesday told The Hill on NewsNation that “we don’t need urging” in response to calls for more aid.
“We are ramping up humanitarian supplies into Gaza in those areas which are away from Hamas in the southern part of Gaza. The number of truckloads doubles and is going to pick up more and more,” he said.
Biden was speaking to supporters in Minneapolis Wednesday evening about his run for president in 2020 when a woman stood up and yelled: “Mr. President, if you care about Jewish people, as a rabbi, I need you to call for a ceasefire.”
His presence drew more than 1,000 nearby demonstrators. They carried Palestinian flags and signs that read “Stop Bombing Children,” “Free Palestine” and “Ceasefire now.”
In other news, just weeks after a frenzied trip to the Middle East, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is returning to the region with a somewhat more nuanced message than he offered in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ bloody Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s military response.
As he did last month, Blinken would stress US support for Israel and try to prevent a wider Middle Eastern war as he visits Israel and Jordan starting today.
However, Blinken’s agenda this time is more complex as the conflict intensifies and the Biden administration grapples with competing domestic and international interests and anger.
Meanwhile, Israel hit Gaza’s largest refugee camp with renewed air strikes on Wednesday, prompting UN rights officials to warn that targeting densely populated residential areas “could amount to war crimes.”
Bombs struck the Jabalia camp for a second time in two days, pulverizing buildings and, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, killing dozens of people.
The UN decried Israel’s most recent bombings, joining a chorus of international condemnation from as far afield as Bolivia, which severed diplomatic ties in protest.
Additional reporting by AFP
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