US president Joe Biden pressed for a ceasefire to the nine-month-old war in Gaza in talks with Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday, with vice-president Kamala Harris due to meet the Israeli leader later.
They were the first face-to-face talks for the two men since Mr Biden travelled to Israel days after Hamas’ October 7th attack on Israel, hugged Mr Netanyahu and pledged US support.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said gaps remain between Israel and the Hamas militants who run the Palestinian enclave in the drive for a ceasefire, but added: “We are closer now than we’ve been before. Both sides have to make compromises.”
State department spokesperson Matt Miller said: “I think the message from the American side in that meeting will be that we need to get this deal over the line.”
The visit coincides with a shift in American politics. On Sunday Mr Biden (81), stepped aside from the US presidential race under pressure from fellow Democrats and endorsed Ms Harris for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination.
“We’ve got a lot to talk about,” Mr Biden said when he welcomed Mr Netanyahu to the Oval Office.
“I want to thank you for 50 years of public service and 50 years of support for the state of Israel,” Mr Netanyahu told Mr Biden.
Mr Biden and Mr Netanyahu later were due to meet together with the families of American hostages held by Hamas.
Relations between the two leaders have been strained for months over Israel’s Gaza offensive in which more than 39,000 people have been killed, say health officials in Gaza. The US is a major arms supplier to Israel, and has protected the country from critical United Nations votes.
Mr Netanyahu’s visit, his first to Israel’s most important international ally since his late 2022 return to power for a record sixth term as prime minister, comes on the heels of Mr Biden’s dramatic decision not to seek re-election. Whether Mr Biden or Ms Harris, who is tied in many election polls with Republican rival Donald Trump, can have any influence on Mr Netanyahu remains to be seen. On Friday Mr Netanyahu travels to Florida to meet Mr Trump.
Both Mr Biden and Ms Harris are eager for a ceasefire. Ms Harris has been aligned with Biden on Israel but has struck a tougher tone.
The conflict began on October 7th when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel from Gaza, killing 1,200 people. Israel launched a retaliatory assault.
Hamas-led fighters took 250 captives on October 7th, according to Israeli tallies. Some 120 hostages are still being held though Israel believes one in three are dead.
Israeli forces advanced deeper into some towns on the eastern side of Khan Younis in southern Gaza on Thursday and tanks advanced in central Rafah, with air strikes and shelling killing 30 Palestinians over the past day, health officials said.
Fighting in recent days has centred around the eastern towns of Bani Suaila, Al-Zanna, and Al-Karara, where the army said on Wednesday it had found the bodies of five Israelis who were killed in Hamas’ October 7th attack and held in Gaza since.
Later on Thursday, Gaza’s health ministry said Israeli military strikes on areas in eastern Khan Younis had killed 14 people, taking the death toll across Gaza over the past 24 hours to 30 people with 146 injured. – Reuters
