US President Joe Biden, during regular telephone conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, discussed the situation in the Gaza Strip, the priority of protecting civilians and the need to increase the flow of humanitarian aid for civilians. About this on October 29 reported The White House press office issued a statement.
“The president [США] reaffirmed that Israel has every right and responsibility to protect its citizens from terrorism, and emphasized the need to do so in accordance with international humanitarian law, in which the protection of civilians is a priority,” the document notes.
In addition, American and Israeli leaders discussed efforts to free hostages who may be held by the Palestinian Hamas movement. Biden also called for an “immediate and significant increase in the flow of humanitarian assistance to meet the needs of civilians in Gaza.”
Earlier in the day, it was reported that Netanyahu and Biden held telephone talks on the conflict in the Middle East. This information was later confirmed by the White House.
The day before, October 28, Netanyahu announced the start of the second stage of the war, the goal of which is to destroy the Palestinian Hamas movement and free the hostages. Meeting on the same day with the relatives of the hostages, he emphasized that work in this direction is being carried out and people do not even fully imagine its scale.
On October 28, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant said that Israel’s military operation in Gaza would take a long time and require great patience. He added that members of the Palestinian Hamas movement are now experiencing a shock from their losses that they have never experienced before.
On October 25, the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) wrote that Israel agreed to the US request to postpone the ground operation so that they could transfer additional missile defense systems to the region to protect American troops.
Biden, in turn, said that he did not demand that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delay the start of the military operation in Gaza, but only called first of all to rescue the hostages held by Hamas militants. In addition, the American leader said that he “does not trust” the civilian casualty figures provided by the Palestinians.
The US Department of Defense on October 25 expressed its intention to send to Israel two batteries of the Iron Dome missile defense system, which are capable of intercepting short-range missiles.
On October 24, the Pentagon confirmed the dispatch of US military personnel to Israel as advisers. Pentagon spokesman Patrick Ryder added that US Marine General James Glynn, who participated in operations against the terrorist group ISIS (banned in the Russian Federation), was sent as an adviser to Israel.
On October 20, Biden requested from the United States Congress to provide additional military and other assistance to Ukraine and Israel in the amount of about $106 billion, of which $61.3 billion to Kyiv and $14.3 billion to Jerusalem.
The situation in the Middle East escalated on the morning of October 7, when the Hamas movement subjected Israeli territory to massive rocket fire from the Gaza Strip and also invaded border areas in the south of the country. That same day, Israel began retaliating against targets in the Gaza Strip.
According to the latest data, in the Gaza Strip the number of victims has exceeded 8 thousand people, and almost 20 thousand more were injured. Israel injured 5.4 thousand people and killed more than 1.4 thousand.
Palestinians are seeking to return the borders between the two countries to the lines that existed before the 1967 Six-Day War. Palestine wants to create its own state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and make East Jerusalem its capital. Israel refuses the conditions set.
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