Biden expresses support for Israel-Gaza ceasefire as pressure on US rises


Israel carries out fresh wave of pre-dawn airstrikes US president stops short of demanding halt to hostilities

Joe Biden has issued a statement for the first time expressing support for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza’s militant rulers, Hamas, after a phone conversation with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

However, the US president stopped short of calling for an immediate halt to the eight days of Israeli airstrikes and Hamas rocket barrages that have killed more than 200 people, the vast majority of them Palestinian.

“The president reiterated his firm support for Israel’s right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks,” the White House statement said after the phone call, the second known call between the leaders in three days.

Source: The Guardian