CNN
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US President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are anticipated to speak on Sunday, based on a spokesman for the Nationwide Safety Council. The decision will give attention to the hostages nonetheless held in Gaza, a supply accustomed to the anticipated dialog mentioned.
Over the past a number of months, the US has tried to place extra strain on the Israeli authorities to help a “humanitarian pause in its warfare towards Hamas.” However these efforts have to this point yielded little success.
Final week, Netanyahu called Hamas’ recent proposals for a ceasefire and hostage deal in Gaza “delusional.”
The full Hamas response proposes three phases, every lasting 45 days, together with the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, a large humanitarian effort and freedom of motion for individuals all through Gaza, based on a duplicate obtained by CNN.
“There may be not a dedication – there needs to be a negotiation, it’s a course of, and in the meanwhile, from what I see from Hamas, it’s not occurring,” Netanyahu mentioned.
Biden’s cellphone name with Netanyahu comes a number of days after the president supplied one in every of his sharpest rebukes thus far of Israel’s military conduct in Gaza, saying the operation to go after Hamas had been “excessive.”
“I’m of the view, as , that the conduct of the response in Gaza – within the Gaza Strip – has been over the high,” Biden told reporters on the White Home on Thursday, describing his personal efforts to open up Gaza so extra humanitarian support may movement in.
Biden and Netanyahu final spoke over the cellphone on January 19.
The decision additionally comes after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that negotiations toward an agreement would continue regardless of the Israeli prime minister’s feedback, which Blinken mentioned had been referencing the “absolute non-starters” within the proposal.
Final week, Blinken additionally instructed Netanyahu and different high Israeli officers that the civilian toll in Gaza “stays too excessive” as violence continues within the area.
“Almost 2 million individuals have been displaced from their houses. A whole bunch of hundreds are experiencing acute starvation. Most have misplaced somebody that they love. And day after day, extra individuals are killed,” Blinken mentioned at a information convention final week after assembly with high Israeli officers.
The Israeli offensive, launched after the Hamas assault simply over 4 months in the past, has taken an immense humanitarian toll on the strip, with tens of hundreds lifeless and the inhabitants of Gaza on the point of famine. Officers see a cessation in combating as central to each their quick and longer-term targets for Gaza as worldwide and home US strain to finish the conflict mounts.
CNN’s Jennifer Hansler contributed to this report.