US President Joe Biden told Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu he expected Israel to de-escalate its military offensive on the Gaza Strip today, the White House said on Wednesday.
This call remarks Biden’s fourth with Netanyahu over the course of a week.
"The president conveyed to the prime minister that he expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire," the White House said in the readout
On her part, Spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters aboard Air Force One that the president calls for cease-fire in Gaza.
“He wants to be on a path to a cease-fire. That is what he is calling for.”
Nonetheless, Jean-Pierre did not say whether Netanyahu gave Biden any assurances, nor clarified why the administration set the deadline of Wednesday for a reduction of violence in Gaza.
“Our focus has not changed. We are working towards a de-escalation ... to a sustainable calm,” she affirmed. “Our approach is to make sure that we do this quietly, intensively, in a diplomatic way."
Since May 10, at least 221 Palestinians have been killed, including 63 children and 36 women, and 1,530 others injured by Israeli attacks across the blockaded territory, according to the Gaza-based Health Ministry.
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