The White House said it remains committed to ensuring the surrender of Hamas and is engaging in dialogue with intermediaries such as Qatar and Egypt to achieve that goal.
A White House National Security Council spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the message was “forced” to be conveyed to officials in Qatar and Egypt, who are acting as mediators in the ongoing Middle East conflict. . U.S. officials’ continued calls for surrender highlight the delicate balance the White House is trying to achieve in ending hostilities.
The National Security Council said: “This conflict could end today if Hamas laid down its arms, and we would do so if Hamas cared about Palestinian lives.” It has also been made clear.” a spokesperson said.
White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said President Biden wants Hamas to surrender, citing examples in which the president and other officials have said so in the past. In his State of the Union address last month, Biden said the conflict would end if Hamas withdraws, releases hostages and hands over those responsible for the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel.
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“Hamas can end this conflict today by releasing its hostages, laying down its weapons and turning over those responsible for October 7,” Biden said in his State of the Union address last month. . (Jacqueline Martin/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But even as Biden ramps up pressure on the Israeli government, the White House insists it is actively working to achieve Hamas’ surrender. Biden spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday and called for an immediate ceasefire, saying it was “essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians.”
Biden also said that U.S. policy depends on Israel’s response to humanitarian concerns in Gaza, according to a reading of the call released by the White House.
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Earlier this week, seven World Central Kitchen aid workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike, raising concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Israeli airstrikes in Gaza targeting Hamas are now in their fifth month as part of the response to the terrorist attack carried out by the militant group on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,200 civilians. He died and has been dubbed “Israel’s 9/11.” ”
Biden called for a ceasefire in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. (Abil Sultan/Pool photo via AP, file)
“This shows that the U.S. government is losing patience with the Israeli government’s approach to Gaza, and the Biden administration has concerns about how its military and other resources are being used in the Gaza Strip. “It shows that there may be an appetite for tighter control over the Israeli government,” Ian Hurd, director of Northwestern University’s Weinberg Center for International and Area Studies, told FOX News Digital.
“I think long-term changes are occurring with global support, but the Netanyahu government may have miscalculated the strength of its military backers.”
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Hurd added that the focus should be on Israel’s actions in Gaza, not Hamas’s actions or its response to U.S. pressure.
Aftermath of the Israeli military attack on a building in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, January 14th. (AP Photo/Adel Hana)
Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at the nonpartisan Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Biden’s actions and decision to reprimand Netanyahu will embolden Hamas and label the White House as “inadvertently an ally of Hamas.” characterized. He also argued that Biden was not pushing hard enough for Hamas to surrender.
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“Why would Hamas make a hostage deal now when it is the United States that is putting so much pressure on Israel and they are preventing Israel from ending Hamas? Why do they want to make concessions? Is it?” Schanzer said. “They have all the cards now, and some of the cards were just given to them by the government.”
“There’s a strange phenomenon of equivalence going on here, where the regime bashes its allies and ignores the crimes of its adversaries,” he continued. “And you can see that politics is a big factor here.”
Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee contributed to this report.
