Israel-Hamas war: US President Joe Biden says “no possibility” of Gaza ceasefire

Washington DC [US]: US President Joe Biden has said that there is “no possibility” of a ceasefire in Gaza. Biden said that the US government will not stop until it gets the hostages out.

Speaking to reporters about the chances of a Gaza ceasefire, Biden said, “None, No possibility.”

Asked about an update on getting hostages out, he said, “We’re still optimistic.” In his message to the families of the hostages in Gaza, Biden said, “We’re not going to stop until we get them out.”

Speaking to reporters before Air Force One departure at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, Biden said that the retaliatory strikes in the Middle East are working “in the sense that we’re hitting the targets strategically.” Biden said he had asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a more than three-day pause.

Asked whether he had asked Netanyahu to pause for three days to get the hostages out for that length of time, Biden said, ” Yes. I’ve asked for even a longer pause for some of them.”

Asked if he was frustrated with Netanyahu, Biden admitted, “It’s taking a little longer than I hoped.”

Meanwhile, Joe Biden welcomed the Israeli decision to formalize humanitarian pauses to its fighting in Gaza and called it a “step in the right direction.”

On X, Biden stated, “These pauses will help get civilians to safer areas away from active fighting. They are a step in the right direction. You have my word: I will continue to advocate for civilian safety and focus on increasing aid to alleviate the suffering of the people of Gaza.”

Earlier, White House National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that the US has been in active discussions with the Israelis about the importance of humanitarian pauses to allow civilians to leave areas of active hostilities.

Speaking to reporters, Kirby said, “Look, as you know, we have been in very active discussions with the Israelis about the importance of tactical humanitarian pauses here to permit civilians to depart areas of active hostilities, to increase the flow of aid, and, of course, to help enable hostage releases. Today, the Israelis have announced some potentially important steps in this direction.”

John Kirby said that there would be two humanitarian corridors permitting civilians to flee the regions of hostilities in northern Gaza. He noted that the first such corridor, open between four and five hours every day for the past few days, has already allowed thousands of people to reach safer areas in the south.

“First, there will now be two humanitarian corridors allowing people to flee the areas of hostilities in the northern part of Gaza. The first such corridor, open between four and five hours every day for the past few days, has already enabled many thousands of people to reach safer areas in the south, away from the main area of ground operations,” Kirby said.

“The second route, along the coastal road, will enable many more thousands to reach safer areas in the south. Of course, we remain concerned that Hamas will discourage or prevent civilians from fleeing,” he added.

He called it critical that humanitarian supplies and assistance are expanded in regions where civilians are moving in southern Gaza.

“At the same time, when encouraging people to leave areas of active operations, it’s critical, absolutely vital, that humanitarian supplies and assistance are expanded in the areas where people are moving, in this case, southern Gaza,” Kirby said.

As many as 50,000 Palestinians have moved from northern to southern Gaza through the humanitarian corridors set up the Israel, the UN Office for the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has announced, The Times of Israel reported.

Palestinians have been able to evacuate northern Gaza due to a formalized humanitarian pause in the fighting that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) implemented in several neighbourhoods in northern Gaza for the first time after pressure from the Biden administration.

It was the sixth consecutive day in which the IDF permitted people to flee northern Gaza and move south through the Salah a Din humanitarian corridor, with 50,000 evacuating in the course of seven hours, The Times of Israel reported.