Biden, staring down first Mideast crisis, touts ceasefire
President Joe Biden having weathered the first major foreign crisis of his presidency that tested the bounds of his decades-long friendship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu touted Thursday a ceasefire deal that appears to end the bloody 11-day conflict between Israel and Hamas.
In hastily arranged remarks from the White House delivered one hour before the truce was due to take effect, Biden credited his administration’s own “quiet and relentless diplomacy,” along with efforts by Egypt, in arriving at the agreement.
“We’ve held intensive high-level discussions, hour-by-hour, literally, (with) Egypt, the Palestinian Authority and other Middle Eastern countries with an aim of avoiding the sort of prolonged conflict we’ve seen in previous years when the hostilities have broken out,” Biden said.
Biden sees genuine opportunity after Gaza ceasefire
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Friday May 21, 2021
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden on Thursday welcomed a ceasefire announced by Israel and Hamas as a genuine opportunity for peace after 11 days of bombing and rocket strikes. I believe we have a genuine opportunity to make progress and I´m committed to working toward it, Biden said at the White House, highlighting Egypt´s role in brokering the truce.
He said he had spoken Thursday with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Biden, who has come under criticism from many within his own Democratic party for not pushing US ally Israel more publicly to call a ceasefire, touted his administration´s quiet, relentless diplomacy.
US president thanks Netanyahu for bringing end to Gaza fighting, backs Israel's right to self-defense, promises to replenish Israel's Iron Dome interceptors, stop Hamas rearming
Speaking at the White House an hour before an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire was set to go into effect in Israel and Gaza, President Biden expressed gratitude for the deal.
Israel, Hamas Agree to Cease-fire
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Israel and Hamas militants announced a cease-fire Thursday.
The move ended an 11-day war that caused widespread destruction in the Gaza Strip, killed at least 230 Palestinians there and halted life in much of Israel.
The office of Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel accepted an Egyptian proposal after a late-night meeting of his security cabinet. Hamas quickly followed and said it would honor the deal.
In a statement, Netanyahu’s office praised the “
significant achievements” of the military operation. It also warned Hamas that “the reality on the ground will