United States President Joe Biden said he did not talk about a ceasefire during his phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as he pressed the latter to ensure the civilians in Gaza are protected.
“I had a long talk with Netanyahu today [Saturday] and it was a private conversation,” Biden told reporters on Saturday (Dec 23).
“I did not ask for a ceasefire,” he said, in response to a shouted question.
The White House in a statement later, said that Biden and Netanyahu discussed Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, including its “objectives and phasing”.
Biden asks Netanyahu to protect Gaza civilians
Biden “emphasised the critical need to protect the civilian population including those supporting the humanitarian aid operation, and the importance of allowing civilians to move safely away from areas of ongoing fighting,” said the statement.
“The leaders discussed the importance of securing the release of all remaining hostages.”
The telephone call between the two leaders came a day after the UN Security Council passed a resolution demanding “safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale”. However, it did not mention a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas militants.
The US and Russia abstained from the vote, whose impact on the ground, aid groups fear, will be close to nil.
On December 20, Netanyahu had ruled out a ceasefire Gaza Strip until the “elimination” of the Palestinian terror group Hamas.
Netanyahu not keen on ceasefire
He reiterated his country’s long-standing position on the war saying that the fighting wouldn’t stop at all unless Hamas was “completely destroyed” and hostages were released safe and sound.
He said Hamas was given “a simple choice — either to surrender or die” as they did not “have any option”.
Hamas said that it wouldn’t free hostages in exchange for a ceasefire as Israel would resume its hostilities in Gaza.
In an interview with Qatar-based Al Jazeera news, Hamas spokesperson Ghazi Hamad said, “Some people are looking for a small pause — a pause here and there for one week, two weeks, three weeks. But we want to stop the aggression (completely). I think we will not play this game.”
(With inputs from agencies)
