WASHINGTON (CN) — Saying he expects a swift and "significant deescalation," President Joe Biden stopped just short of demanding a ceasefire on Wednesday in a message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken was the first to contact Netanyahu last week as violence erupted between Israel and militant rulers on the Gaza Strip. But Biden had yet to reach out to the prime minister until Wednesday morning, making the call while he was aboard Air Force Once and heading to a commencement ceremony for the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut.
Israel's airstrikes against Hamas in the densely populated Gaza Strip have killed at least 200 Palestinians including more than 60 children. Another two dozen or more have lost their lives in clashes with Israeli security forces in the West Bank, and Hamas rockets have killed at least another 10 in Israel.
In a summary of the call between Biden and Netanyahu released Wednesday, the White House said: “The two leaders had a detailed discussion on the state of events in Gaza, Israel’s progress in degrading the capabilities of Hamas and other terrorist elements, and ongoing diplomatic efforts by regional governments and the United States. The President conveyed to the Prime Minister that he expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire.”
White House press secretary Jenn Psaki earlier this week described America’s approach to mediating the conflict as “quiet and intensive diplomacy."
Going on 10 days, the crisis has been anything but quiet.
Indeed, the region saw a ramp-up of violence on Tuesday night as more than 50 Israeli warplanes took to the skies over the Gaza Strip, dropping a succession of bombs to destroy what the Israeli military says is a vast network of tunnels used by Hamas militants to shuttle weapons and people.
The United Nations Security Council has been receiving calls, most recently from France, to write up a resolution demanding a ceasefire. In addition to some 63 Gazan children killed, at least two Israeli children have also died.
Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, a spokesman for Israel’s military, has said Israel would continue throughout the week to bomb the tunnel network in an area that borders heavily populated residential and commercial zones.
The BBC reported Wednesday that Israel was attempting to kill Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif during the overnight bombings in Gaza.
Reuters also reported on Wednesday that during a closed question-and-answer session with Israeli press, Prime Minister Netanyahu was heard saying Israel was “not standing with a stopwatch” and that it would “achieve the goals of the operation.”
“Previous operations lasted a long time so it is not possible to set a timeframe,” Netanyahu said.
Clashes in the region exploded this time after Hamas fired rockets into Israel, protesting what it said were human rights abuses against Palestinians who worshipped at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City during Ramadan, the Muslim holy month.
Amplifying tensions earlier this month, the end of a legal battle in an Israeli court spurred the forcible eviction of Palestinians living in an area known as Sheikh Jarrah, a disputed territory in east Jerusalem. Some were forced to leave immediately. Others will have until August to move.
The litigation over territory in east Jerusalem has been steady for over 30 years, but the removal of three dozen families in the city at the start of this month is considered to be one of the chief catalysts for the latest bloodshed, in addition to the clashes at Al-Aqsa.
Israel's settlement-building in this region amplified before Biden took office with the supportive policies of former President Donald Trump. In an early broadcast of its pro-Israel stance, the Trump administration even moved the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to the still-contested territory of Jerusalem — a signal to the world that America recognized the city made up of Jews, Christians and Muslims as the nation's capital.
Secret peace talks have reportedly been unfolding between Israel and Hamas with Egypt brokering a tentative truce. The State Department did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday.
Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system has intercepted almost all rockets Hamas has launched toward Israeli territory, with officials saying it has stopped 90% of the more than 3,000 rockets fired by Hamas from Gaza into Israel.
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