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Smoke over Gaza after Israeli air strikes
Photo: MOHAMMED SABER / EPA
Seven sentences comprise the White House announcement regarding a telephone conversation between US President Joe Biden and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"The president has expressed his support for a ceasefire," it says among other things.
He also spoke with Netanyahu about efforts by the United States, together with Egypt and other partners, for such a ceasefire.
Biden is facing increasing pressure to stand up for an end to violence (you can find out more here).
In the diplomatically formulated message from the White House, however, he fell short of calls - including from his own democratic party - for an immediate ceasefire.
The US is Israel's most important ally.
The White House said that in the phone call with Netanyahu, Biden reiterated his support for Israel's right to self-defense.
At the same time, he had encouraged Israel "to make every effort to ensure the protection of innocent civilians".
It was Biden's third phone call with Netanyahu since the violence flared up.
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US President Biden
Photo: Pool / Getty Images
It does not look like a ceasefire at the moment.
The conflict entered its second week with Israeli attacks on targets in the Gaza Strip and the shelling of Israeli cities by Palestinian militants.
Netanyahu announced Monday after a meeting of the security cabinet that the attacks in Gaza would continue.
"The directive reads: The strikes against terrorist targets will continue."
In view of the continuing bloodshed on both sides, the Biden government defended itself against criticism on Monday, claiming that it was not advocating an end to the violence with enough force.
The US relied on "quiet, intensive diplomacy" in the conflict, said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
Most recently, 29 Democratic senators issued a joint statement calling for "an immediate ceasefire agreement."
Senate minority Republican leader Mitch McConnell criticized this as an attempt to equate "terrorists attacking Israel" with a "nation defending itself."
The US would have to stand closely with Israel.
UN Security Council meets again because of conflict in the Middle East
A joint statement by the UN Security Council on the Middle East conflict failed again on Monday due to resistance from the USA.
According to diplomats, the US blocked a statement by the highest UN body on the escalation of violence for the third time in a closed session.
Another emergency meeting on the conflict is due to take place on Tuesday.
The Middle East conflict escalated on Monday last week.
According to the Israeli military, militant Palestinians have since fired more than 3,350 rockets at Israel, killing ten people.
More than 300 other people were injured.
For comparison: During the 51-day Gaza War in 2014, a total of 4,481 rockets were fired at Israel.
The vast majority of missiles are intercepted by the iron dome defense system with which Israel protects its national territory.
Conversely, the Israeli military claims to have attacked more than 1200 targets in the Gaza Strip so far.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza put the number of dead since the escalation began at 212, including 61 children.
1,400 people were injured.
Israel
reports rocket fire from Lebanon
According to the Israeli military, six rockets were fired from Lebanon in the direction of Israel on Monday.
But they all fell on Lebanese soil, the army announced on Monday evening.
In response, the military fired artillery at the attackers.
Lebanese security circles confirmed that at least three rockets had been fired from the south of Lebanon.
The UN peacekeeping mission Unifil also reported rocket fire from Lebanese soil.
There was initially no information on who was responsible for the rocket fire.
aar / dpa / AFP
