President Joe Biden has voiced his support for a humanitarian pause in the Israel-Hamas war in the context that the US has maintained its support for Tel Aviv in recent times.
Al Jazeera reported that in a campaign speech, President Biden said on November 1 that the war between Israel and Hamas needs to temporarily stop.
When asked to clarify the concept of a pause, Mr. Biden said that it was time to free the more than 200 hostages that Hamas forces were holding after the October 7 surprise attack on areas where Israel control caused 1,400 deaths.
Israel retaliated, carrying out a series of air and ground attacks on Gaza, killing 8,800 Palestinians.
According to Al Jazeera, this is the first time Mr. Biden has called for a temporary ceasefire since the Hamas-Israel war broke out more than 3 weeks ago.
In addition, Qatar news agency said that Mr. Biden’s move could mark a change in the White House’s stance regarding the war.
Last week, White House spokesman John Kirby said that the US had not drawn any red lines for Israel and would continue to support Tel Aviv – seemingly suggesting the US would not interfere in how Israel conducts its military campaign incident in Gaza.
Last weekend, the United States was one of 14 countries that voted against a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly calling for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
The United States is by far Israel’s strongest ally, sending billions of dollars in annual aid to Israel. To support Israel’s ongoing military offensive, Mr. Biden asked Congress to approve a $14.3 billion military aid package for Tel Aviv.
However, the US government is also under pressure from many international leaders, rights organizations and some progressive members of the Democratic Party to curb Israel’s campaign, as the protests continue. Tel Aviv’s attack left nearly 9,000 people dead, including 3,500 children.
Mr. Biden is also under pressure from the Arab-American community, an important constituency in the Democratic Party. According to a survey from the Arab Institute in America (AAI) research organization, support for Mr. Biden from Arab Americans has dropped to 17%.
“This is very complicated for the Israelis. It’s also extremely complicated for the Muslim world. I have supported the two-state solution from the beginning,” Mr. Biden said.
Mr. Biden’s latest move calling for a “temporary pause” in fighting comes when the US government has been seeking to open safe passage for American citizens trapped in Gaza. The US also began discussing the future of post-war Gaza.
On November 1, American citizens were among hundreds of foreigners who began leaving the blockaded territory through Egypt’s Rafah border crossing, part of an Egyptian-brokered deal to allow The injured and foreigners to evacuate safely.
The White House expressed hope that Washington will remove all US citizens from Gaza in the next few days.
About 400 American citizens in Gaza have told the State Department they want to leave the territory and their family members. US officials said they were trying to help about 1,000 people leave the narrow strip of land.
