Biden says Israel-Gaza war should end now and Israel must not occupy enclave

WASHINGTON – US President Joe Biden said on July 11 that the Israel-Gaza war must end now and Israel must not occupy the enclave after the war, telling reporters that his ceasefire framework had been agreed on by both Israel and Hamas, but there were still gaps to close.

“That framework is now agreed on by both Israel and Hamas. So I sent my team to the region to hammer out the details,” Mr Biden said in a news conference. 

Mr Biden in late May

detailed a proposal of three phases

aimed at achieving a ceasefire, the release of hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and the rebuilding of the coastal enclave.

Central Intelligence Agency director William Burns and US Middle East envoy Brett McGurk were in the Middle East this week, meeting regional counterparts to discuss the ceasefire deal.

Mr Biden said during the press conference: “These are difficult, complex issues. There are still gaps to close. We’re making progress. The trend is positive. I’m determined to get this deal done and bring an end to this war, which should end now.”

Palestinian Islamist group Hamas has accepted a key part of a US plan, dropping a demand that Israel first commit to a permanent ceasefire before signing the agreement.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that the deal

must not prevent Israel from resuming fighting

until its war objectives are met. At the outset of the war, he pledged to annihilate Hamas.

Mr Netanyahu’s office said on July 10 that he was committed to securing a Gaza ceasefire deal, provided Israel’s red lines were respected.

Mr Biden told reporters on July 11 that Israel must not occupy Gaza while also offering some criticism of Israel’s war Cabinet, saying: “Israel occasionally was less than cooperative.”

Mr Biden expressed disappointment at some of his steps not having succeeded in Gaza, citing the

planned winding down of the US military’s humanitarian pier

off the coast of Gaza as an example.

“I was hopeful that would be more successful,” he said.

The Biden administration has faced international criticism for its continued support of Israel in the face of growing civilian casualties.

The US, Israel’s most important ally, has seen months of protests around the country in opposition to the war and to American support for Israel.

A dozen US administration officials have quit, citing opposition to Mr Biden’s Gaza policy. Rights advocates also note a rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in the US amid the war.

The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict

was triggered on Oct 7,

when fighters led by Hamas, which controls Gaza, attacked southern Israel. They killed 1,200 people and took around 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures.

The Gaza Health Ministry says that since then, more than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s assault on the coastal enclave, which has displaced nearly all its 2.3 million population, caused a hunger crisis and led to genocide allegations that Israel denies. REUTERS