A potential ceasefire arrangement, including the release of captives held prisoner by Hamas, was the main topic of a recent conversation between U.S. President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to the White House, Biden and Netanyahu discussed the current negotiations aimed at securing the release of captives and a swift cessation of hostilities in Gaza. An assistance measure allowing $26 billion in military aid to Israel, including humanitarian support for those in besieged Gaza, was signed by Biden only days before this conversation.
Although the world is worried about the more than a million Palestinians taking refuge in Rafah, the southernmost city of Gaza, Israel intends to invade. According to the White House, Biden restated his “clear position” on the matter. For humanitarian reasons, the United States opposes the invasion, putting pressure on ties between the allies.
The White House said Biden reaffirmed his ironclad commitment to Israel’s security. The statement also emphasized the effective defense against Iran’s recent missile and drone strike. The United States assisted Israel in neutralizing “nearly all” of the Iranian threats, according to Biden’s earlier statements.
In response to an assault by the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas on October 7, 2023, which killed over 1,200 people and captured over 200 more in Gaza, Israel went to war. More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 76,000 injured in the besieged enclave in the almost seven months of conflict. Critics and observers from all over the world are focusing on the shocking toll of Palestinian casualties.
The pro-Palestinian protests in the last several weeks have been increasingly disorderly, leading to a large number of arrests and the saturation of prominent events by the demonstrators. Since Israel’s conflict with Hamas in Gaza began, pro-Palestinian rallies have swept across college campuses around the US.
The assault on October 7 by Hamas, which killed 1,200 people—mostly civilians—according to Israeli officials, was the spark that ignited the war. About 130 individuals, including the bodies of about 30, are being held by Hamas and other factions, according to Israeli police. Health officials in Gaza said that over 34,000 individuals, primarily children and women, had been killed as a result of Israel’s counterattack against Hamas.
