WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday it was “critical” to protect civilians in Gaza and said much more aid must be allowed in, the White House said.
Biden, who was speaking by telephone to Netanyahu for the first time since November 26, called for the creation of humanitarian corridors to “separate the civilian population from Hamas.”
“The president emphasized the critical need to protect civilians and to separate the civilian population from Hamas including through corridors that allow people to move safely from defined areas of hostilities,” the White House said in a statement.
The United States has strongly defended Israel’s right to defend itself after the October 7 attacks by Hamas, in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed while 138 people remain as hostages.
But the Biden administration says that too many Palestinian civilians are dying in Israel’s attacks. The Hamas-run health ministry said the death toll had risen to 17,177 by Thursday.
It has also told Israel, which is now attacking southern Gaza following the breakdown of a shortlived truce last week, that numbers of casualties and displacements should not be as great as during its initial assault on the north.
As heavy urban combat raged in and around Gaza’s biggest cities on Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel needed to do more.
“It remains imperative that Israel put a premium on civilian protection,” Blinken said during a press conference with visiting British Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Thursday.
“There does remain a gap between... the intent to protect civilians and the actual results that we’re seeing on the ground.”
The United States has also been pushing to get more aid into Gaza.
Biden welcomed Israel’s decision to let more fuel in following the breakdown of a truce “but stressed that much more assistance was urgently required across the board,” the White House said.
He also called on Hamas to allow the Red Cross access to hostages that the Palestinian militant group still holds.
Biden separately spoke to Jordan’s King Abdullah II, as efforts continue to restore the short-lived truce that broke down last week, the White House said.
The two leaders agreed to work for a “durable and sustainable peace in the Middle East to include the establishment of a Palestinian state,” it said.
Biden stresses ‘critical need to protect civilians’ in Netanyahu call
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Biden stresses ‘critical need to protect civilians’ in Netanyahu call
Spain highlights importance of Gaza reconstruction
- Spain officially recognized Palestine as a state in May 2024, in a coordinated move alongside Ireland and Norway
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian prime minister, Mohammed Mustafa, and the Spanish foreign minister, Jose Manuel Albares, on Friday discussed the latest developments in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
During their telephone conversation they emphasized the need to intensify international efforts to end the Israeli occupation and halt attacks and settler violence, and to secure the release of Palestinian funds held by Israeli authorities.
They affirmed the importance of ongoing efforts relating to plans for the reconstruction of Gaza, and Europe’s significant role in this process. Mustafa and Albares highlighted the need to unify Palestinian institutions in Gaza with those in the West Bank, with the aim of establishing a Palestinian state in line with international resolutions, including last year’s New York Declaration.
They also discussed coordination between their countries, and the strengthening of Spain’s political, diplomatic and financial support for Palestine, and Mustafa thanked Spain for its ongoing support.
Spain officially recognized Palestine as a state in May 2024, in a coordinated move alongside Ireland and Norway. Estephan Salameh, the Palestinian finance and planning minister, is set to visit Spain this month to discuss enhanced cooperation, particularly in the areas of development and reconstruction. Meanwhile, Israel continues operating in the occupied West Bank.
The Palestinian Prisoners media office said on Friday that Israel carried out numerous raids across the territory, including the major cities of Ramallah and Hebron, according to The Associated Press.
Nearly 50 people were detained, following the arrest of at least 50 other Palestinians on Thursday, most of those in the Ramallah area.
As 2026 begins, the shaky 12-week-old ceasefire between Israel and Hamas has largely ended large-scale Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
But Palestinians are still being killed by Israeli fire, especially along the so-called Yellow Line that delineates areas under Israeli control, and the humanitarian crisis is compounded by frequent winter rains and colder temperatures.
On Friday, American actor and film producer Angelina Jolie visited the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
The only crossing between the territory and a country other than Israel, it remains closed despite Palestinian requests to reopen it to people and aid.
Jolie met with members of the Red Crescent on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing and then visited a hospital in the nearby city of Arish to speak with Palestinian patients on Friday, according to Egyptian officials.
Aid groups say not enough shelter materials are getting into Gaza during the truce.
