Biden calls for 'pause' in Gaza

US President Joe Biden has called for a “pause” of violence in the Gaza Strip, a remark the Associated Press said was a “subtle departure” from the US administration’s previous stance.

The US earlier said it would not dictate Israeli military operations, but the White House has now supported a “humanitarian pause” to deliver aid to Gaza.

According to Reuters, the US president, who was speaking to about 200 people at an event, responded: “I think we need a pause. A pause means give time to get the prisoners out.”

The White House later clarified that he meant the 200-plus Israeli hostages taken by Hamas in its attack on Oct 7.

Biden’s remarks were in response to a heckler, who said: “As a rabbi, I need you to call for a ceasefire right now.”

The heckler, who was escorted out, later identified herself to reporters as Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg, various news outlets reported.

Biden said the situation is “incredibly complicated” for the Israelis and the Muslim world, and that he supports a two-state solution.

“The fact of the matter is that Hamas is a terrorist organisation. A flat-out terrorist organisation,” he reportedly said.

Camp strike could be war crime

This comes as the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said Israeli attacks on the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza may be “disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes”.

“Given the high number of civilian casualties & the scale of destruction following Israeli airstrikes on Jabalia refugee camp, we have serious concerns that these are disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes,” it said on X (Twitter).

Israel said it bombed the packed refugee camp to kill Hamas commander Ibrahim Biari who was there. Hamas denied that he was killed.

The Gaza Health Ministry said at least 195 Palestinians died in the refugee camp strikes, bringing the death toll since recent violence on Oct 7 to more than 8,700 Palestinians, of which 3,648 were children, Reuters reported.

At least 1,400 Israelis have died, including 15 soldiers killed in fighting in Gaza, the Israeli Defence Forces said.

More allowed out, hospitals out of fuel

Meanwhile, the Gaza Borders and Crossing Authority published a second list of 596 foreign and dual nationals who were allowed to leave Gaza via the Rafah crossing to Egypt.

At the start of the recent violence, Gaza had a population of 2.3 million, half of which were children.

As the bombardment continues, the Turkiye-Palestinian Friendship Hospital - Gaza’s only cancer facility - shut down after running out of fuel while the Indonesian Hospital is running on its backup generator.

Israel has not allowed fuel into the blockaded strip, claiming hoarding by Hamas.

Other aid, including food, water, and medicines, has only been trickling in, leaving the population in desperate conditions, said the UN agency operating in Gaza, UNRWA.

As violence rages on in Gaza, large numbers of Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, which is not controlled by Hamas, have reportedly been driven out of their homes by Israeli settlers, the Israeli human rights group BT Selem said.

“In recent weeks, armed settlers repeatedly arrived, sometimes with soldiers, beat residents, attacked them with stones, vandalised property, and threatened them serious harm if they didn’t leave,” it said on X (Twitter).

Al Jazeera also reported “heavily armed Israeli forces” carrying out raids in residential neighbourhoods on the occupied West Bank, including in Jalazone, Ramallah and Ein al-Sultan near Jericho.

The Israeli-occupied West Bank is governed by the Palestinian Authority, dominated by the secular political party, Fatah.

Reuters reported there has been “steadily escalating violence” on the West Bank, with Israeli forces clamping down further since Oct 7 by making hundreds of arrests and raids, prompting more fighting.

As a result, at least 121 Palestinians have been killed on the West Bank in the past three weeks.

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