US President Joe Biden has “stressed the urgency” of reaching a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House has said.
In a call on Wednesday, which was also joined by Vice President Kamala Harris, Mr Biden is said to have stated the importance of removing “any remaining obstacles” blocking an agreement with Hamas.
He also reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to help defend Israel against what the White House called “all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis”.
It came after the US secretary of state wrapped up a diplomatic tour of the Middle East, pushing for a deal that could end the war.
The office of Mr Netanyahu reiterated on Wednesday that Israel planned to keep troops in a strip of land along the border between Gaza and Egypt – known as the Philadelphi Corridor – in the event of any such deal.
“Israel will insist on the achievement of all of its objectives for the war, as they have been defined by the security cabinet, including that Gaza never again constitutes a security threat to Israel. This requires securing the southern border,” a statement said.
The issue has become a key sticking point – with Hamas so far insisting on a total withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Egypt also opposes the presence of Israeli troops along its border with Gaza.
On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Israel had agreed to a “US bridging proposal”, after a three-hour meeting with Mr Netanyahu in Jerusalem.
Mr Blinken would not confirm to the BBC whether the US proposal stipulated the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Philadelphi corridor, but Mr Netanyahu’s repeated public insistence on the plan appears to have irritated Washington.
A US official accused the prime minister of making “maximalist statements” that were “not constructive to getting a ceasefire deal across the finish line”.
A new round of ceasefire talks is set to take place in Cairo this weekend, with US, Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari representatives in attendance.
Hamas has so far not said they will attend, but it is believed they are continuing to receive updates on the negotiations from Egyptian and Qatari mediators.
A member of the Hamas political bureau told the BBC on Monday that the group had “agreed a deal [through mediators] on 2 July” and therefore “don’t need a new round of negotiations or to discuss the new demands of Benjamin Netanyahu”.
“We have shown maximum flexibility and positivity,” Basem Naim said. He claimed that Mr Netanyahu was “not interested in reaching a ceasefire, only in flaring up the region… and serving his own personal political interests”.
In Gaza on Wednesday, at least 50 Palestinians were killed by Israeli air strikes, Hamas-run health authorities said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it hit around 30 targets across the territory, including tunnels, launch sites and an observation post.
The targets included the UN-run Salah al-Din school in Gaza City, which the IDF said was used by “Hamas operatives” as a “hideout”. The strike killed at least four people and wounded 15, the Hamas-run Civil Defence service said.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency, said that children were killed in the strike and some were “burnt to death”.
“Gaza is no place for children anymore. They are the first casualty of this merciless war,” he said, adding that “a ceasefire is beyond overdue”.
Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on 7 October by Hamas gunmen, during which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage.
More than 40,223 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and combatant deaths. The UN human rights office says most of those killed were women and children.
Israel and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement also exchanged fire on Wednesday, with Israel saying it hit a Hezbollah weapons storage facility in the Bekaa Valley overnight. The Lebanese health ministry said one person was killed and 30 others injured.
In response, Hezbollah, which is backed by Iran, said it targeted Israeli military positions in the Golan Heights with a rocket barrage. Israeli authorities said two homes were hit and one person was injured.
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