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President Biden stated on Monday that Israel shouldn’t proceed with a significant floor offensive within the southern Gaza metropolis of Rafah with no “credible plan” to guard multiple million people who find themselves sheltering there.
Mr. Biden spoke after assembly on the White Home with King Abdullah II of Jordan, a key determine within the push for a cease-fire within the Gaza Strip. It was the primary face-to-face dialog between the 2 leaders for the reason that Israel-Hamas warfare began.
“Many individuals there have been displaced — displaced a number of occasions, fleeing the violence to the north, and now they’re packed into Rafah, uncovered and susceptible,” Mr. Biden stated throughout an look with King Abdullah. “They have to be protected.”
The go to got here as King Abdullah sought to shore up worldwide support for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza that will completely halt the preventing.
Mr. Biden has rejected the thought of a basic cease-fire, saying Israel has a proper to defend itself. However he has pushed for a pause within the preventing that would permit for the discharge of hostages held by Hamas and one thing “extra enduring.”
A lot of Jordan’s inhabitants is ethnically Palestinian, placing the nation — a detailed U.S. ally that has a peace treaty with Israel — in a tough place because it navigates the fallout from the warfare.
King Abdullah stated an Israeli invasion of Rafah was “sure to provide one other humanitarian disaster.”
“The scenario is already insufferable for over one million individuals who had been pushed into Rafah for the reason that warfare began,” King Abdullah stated. “We can not stand by and let this proceed. We want a long-lasting cease-fire now. This warfare should finish.”
Mr. Biden issued a forceful condemnation of the hovering dying toll in Gaza, the place well being officers say greater than 28,000 folks have been killed for the reason that begin of the warfare.
“It’s heartbreaking,” Mr. Biden stated of the deaths. “Each harmless life in Gaza is a tragedy.”
Whereas Mr. Biden’s criticism of the warfare has grown extra blunt within the 4 months for the reason that Oct. 7 assault, the US has not signaled that it plans main coverage adjustments, equivalent to placing circumstances on navy assist to Israel.
On Monday, when requested if Israel would face any penalties for the way it goes about its subsequent navy marketing campaign, John F. Kirby, a White Home spokesman, stated that he was not going to get into “hypotheticals.”
He stated that the US was working to affect how Israel performed its warfare.
“There have been moments and there proceed to be moments the place we now have the chance and have taken the chance to form their considering and to assist affect the best way they’ve performed a few of these operations,” he stated. “And that is still right now.”
Each Mr. Biden and King Abdullah stated the battle ought to finish with a two-state answer.
“I say this as a protracted, lifelong supporter of Israel,” Mr. Biden stated. “That’s the one path that ensures Israel’s safety for the long run.”
King Abdullah stated that “that is the one answer that may assure peace and safety for the Palestinians and Israelis, in addition to the whole area.”
Egypt and Qatar, performing as intermediaries between Israel and Hamas, have led talks aimed toward halting the preventing and releasing hostages held in Gaza. The Biden administration has been actively concerned in these negotiations, working publicly and behind the scenes to attempt to advance a cease-fire deal.
On Monday, Mr. Biden stated the US was engaged on a hostage cope with Israel and Hamas that would carry at the least a six-week pause that would “take the time to construct one thing extra enduring.”
The C.I.A. director, William J. Burns, was anticipated to journey to Cairo for talks on the hostages on Tuesday, based on a U.S. official who spoke on the situation of anonymity concerning the discussions.
Whereas Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel publicly dismissed a Hamas proposal final week, Israeli officers have signaled that their authorities continues to be open to negotiation. The mere indisputable fact that extra talks shall be happening in Cairo this week is seen as a constructive signal.
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