Washington: US President Joe Biden is adamant that a two-state solution to the issues separating the two countries is necessary before the Israel-Hamas conflict can be resolved.
He added, “I can’t tell you how it’s going to last,” as the US and Israel’s disagreements about the post-war situation deepened. The US wanted Israel to refrain from reoccupying Gaza, but Israel refused.
As stated on Wednesday, Biden did not think that “until there’s a two-state solution” the conflict between Israel and Hamas will end.
The comment was made in answer to a query about a deadline for US support of Israel in the conflict. For the seventh time, the UNSC voted in favor of an urgent ceasefire to support Gaza’s humanitarian needs.
“But I can tell you, I don’t think it ends until there’s a two-state solution,” stated Biden. I told the Israelis that I believed it was a grave error for them to believe they would be occupying Gaza.”
The president was also questioned regarding the hostages in Gaza, one of whom was allegedly a three-year-old American.
Numerous media sites cited Biden as adding, “I’m not going to stop ’till we get her.”
In the interim, the IDF stepped up its raids at the Gaza hospital Al-Shifa.
Hundreds of civilians, including dozens of preterm newborns, are stuck at a place that now represents Palestinian agony, and their fears of not making it out have increased due to the shadow of tanks coming in and surrounding the hospital.
The raid is being described as a “targeted operation against Hamas”.
The White House called for patients to be protected, saying it did not “want to see a fire fight in a hospital” as the world sought updates.
Through its Intelligence sources, the US supported Israel’s claim that militants were using hospitals, including Al-Shifa, and tunnels beneath them to hide in and keep hostages.
The US does not support airstrikes on Gaza’s largest hospital and does not want to see a firefight inside, the White House said last night as the Israeli army raided the Al-Shifa hospital, where hundreds of patients and doctors remain trapped.
“To be clear, we do not support striking a hospital from the air, and we do not want to see a firefight in the hospital where innocent people, helpless people, sick people are simply trying to get the medical care that they deserve — not to be caught in a crossfire,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby was quoted by the NBC as saying.
“Hospitals and patients must be protected.”
For the first time since the start of the conflict, Israel acquiesced to permit some fuel into Gaza for humanitarian operations as pressure from organizations and world leaders increased.
Health officials in Gaza report that over 11,200 people have died and over 1.6 million people have been displaced.
Israel believes 1,200 people were murdered in the Hamas terrorist attack October 7, with 239 people still taken hostage in Gaza, NBC news claimed per reports from their correspondents in the region.
Meanwhile, a group of twenty-one Democratic congressmen issued a letter Monday pleading with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Joe Biden to pursue a cease-fire in Gaza.
The letter — signed by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Betty McCollum of Minnesota, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and 21 others, many of whom are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus — said the lawmakers were concerned about the intensifying war in Gaza, “particularly grave violations against children, and our fear that without an immediate cessation of hostilities and the establishment of a robust bilateral ceasefire, this war will lead to a further loss of civilian life”.
“We urge clarity on your strategic objectives for achieving de escalation and stability in the region,” the Democrats wrote.
