U.S. President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday (17,05,2021), who is in favour of a ceasefire in bloody Israeli-Palestinian exchanges, but refrained from openly demanding a truce.
In the phone call with the Israeli prime minister, “the president expressed support for a ceasefire and discussed America’s commitment to Egypt and other partners to that end,” the White House said.
Biden has so far resisted joining other world leaders and much of his own Democratic party to call for an immediate ceasefire in Israel.
In a statement, the White House said the representative reiterated what has been his main message so far: “his strong support for Israel’s right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks.”
The US president “encouraged Israel to make every effort to ensure the protection of innocent civilians,” according to the statement.
The White House has, however, avoided condemning any aspect of the ongoing Israeli military attacks, claiming that america’s close ally is entitled to respond by force to rocket fire from the Israeli Hamas movement, which rules in the Gaza Strip.
Some U.S. officials have suggested that more critical opinions are conveyed in private.
It is the first time Biden has positioned itself in favour of a ceasefire after being pressured by his Democratic co-religionists and other countries to play a more active role in the crisis in the Middle East.
Rocket attack from Lebanon
The sharp war escalation between Israel and Gaza, which erupted on 10 May, has already killed at least 212 Palestinians and 10 people on Israeli territory.
This wave of violence also ignited the mood in the region and led to several incidents in southern Lebanon and its border area with Israel.
Six rockets were launched on Monday from Lebanon into Israeli territory, but the gunfire was fired and the projectiles fell into Lebanese territory, the Israeli Army reported, which responded with artillery fire at the places from which the launches occurred.
“Six failed (rocket) attempts were identified from Lebanon that did not cross” the border with Israel, a military spokesman, assured that “in response, Israeli artillery forces fired at the firing points.
Shots from Lebanon also sounded anti-aircraft alarms in Israeli communities near the so-called Blue Line, the United Nations-established demarcation separating the Arab state and Israel.
