Key Points
- US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have met to discuss a ceasefire in Gaza.
- Israel’s assault on Gaza has killed over 39,000 Palestinians after the Hamas attack which killed 1200 Israelis.
- The White House says progress has been made towards a ceasefire but compromises from both sides are necessary.
US President Joe Biden pressed for a ceasefire to the nine-month-old war in Gaza in talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Vice President Kamala Harris also due to meet the Israeli leader.
They were the first face-to-face talks for the two men since Biden travelled to Israel days after Hamas’ 7 October attack on Israel, hugged Netanyahu and pledged American 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 “we are closer now than we’ve been before.”
“Both sides have to make compromises,” Kirby said.
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, 81-year-old Biden stepped aside from the US presidential race under pressure from fellow Democrats and endorsed Harris for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination.
“We’ve got a lot to talk about,” Biden said when he welcomed 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,” Netanyahu told Biden.
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.
In the late afternoon, Harris will meet the Israeli leader in her ceremonial office at the White House.
The meeting will be closely watched for signs of how Harris, who was the first top US official to call for a ceasefire, could shift American policy toward Israel if she becomes president.
Netanyahu’s visit also comes as International Criminal Court prosecutors seek arrest warrants for both he and Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant as well as Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Mohammed Al-Masri and Ismail Haniyeh for alleged war crimes.
Israel and Hamas both vehemently deny these allegations.
The Israel-Hamas conflict began on 7 October when Hamas militants attacked southern Israel from Gaza, killing 1,139 people and taking about 250 hostages.
Source Agencies
