Biden welcomes ceasefire between Israel & Gaza-based militants after 3 days of hostilities

After three days of hostilities between Israel and Gaza-based militants, United States President Joe Biden lauded the announcement of a truce between them on Sunday. Biden further stated that the US has collaborated with representatives from Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Qatar, Jordan, as well as other countries in the area during the past 72 hours to push for a speedy settlement of the issue. As per a statement from the White House, Biden said, “I welcome the announcement tonight of a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza-based militants”. 

In the statement, Biden expressed his gratitude to the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and senior Egyptian officials who were instrumental in this diplomatic effort, and the Qatari Amir Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani and his staff for their assistance in ending these hostilities. 

The US President made these remarks at the time when the ceasefire was announced following the airstrikes on the Palestinian Islamic Jihad which were conducted throughout the Gaza Strip as part of Israel's operation Breaking Dawn, ANI reported.  

Ceasefire between Israel and Gaza-based militants

After the most recent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Palestinian terrorists, a ceasefire deal was negotiated and went into force on Sunday. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis' lives were halted and scores of Palestinians were slain during the span of the conflict, but at 11:30 PM (2030 GMT) on Sunday, an agreement negotiated by Egypt between the two sides came into force. The Israeli Prime Minister's Office declared the ceasefire between the two parties and stated that "the State of Israel maintains the right to respond strongly" if it were to be broken, as per media reports. 

Apart from this, referring to it, Biden said, “My support for Israel’s security is long-standing and unwavering—including its right to defend itself against attacks.” “Over these recent days, Israel has defended its people from indiscriminate rocket attacks launched by the terrorist group Palestinian Islamic Jihad...I commend Prime Minister Yair Lapid and his government’s steady leadership throughout the crisis,” he added.  

President Joe Biden even highlighted the reports of the civilian deaths in Gaza. He stated that it is tragic to hear about civilian casualties, whether they were caused by Israeli airstrikes against Islamic Jihad targets or the several Islamic Jihad rockets that are said to have landed within Gaza. 

In addition to calling on all parties to properly execute the truce and make sure that fuel and humanitarian aid are flowing into Gaza as the violence diminishes, Biden asserted that his administration supports a prompt and comprehensive inquiry into each of these reports.  

While, speaking about his travel to Israel and the West Bank, Biden recalled that he stated clearly that "Israelis and Palestinians both deserve to live safely and securely and to enjoy equal measures of freedom, prosperity, and democracy,” as per the statement.  

(Image: AP)