US President Biden says may support Gaza ceasefire only after hostages are freed

United States President Joe Biden, on Monday (Oct 23) said that any discussions about a ceasefire in Gaza can only take place if the Palestinian militant group Hamas releases all hostages taken from Israel after its October 7 attack. Washington has also rejected proposals of a “humanitarian pause” to let aid into the besieged Gaza.

Potential ‘hostages-for-ceasefire’ deal?

During an event at the White House when asked if he would support a “hostages-for-ceasefire” deal, the US president said, “We should have those hostages released and then we can talk.”

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Subsequently, he apologised for having to leave the event to promote his economic programme ahead of the US presidential election next year and said he had to go to the White House situation room for “another issue I have to deal with.”

Notably, the US president’s departure came after the Palestinian militant group said they had freed two more female hostages abducted from Israel.

This comes days after an American mother and daughter duo Judith and Natalie Raanan were freed. Israel, earlier on Monday, increased the number of those abducted to 222.

Biden’s call with the pope

During the event, Biden said that he discussed the ongoing war with Pope Francis on Sunday. “The pope and I are on the same page, he was very very, very interested in what we were doing,” said the US president, as quoted by news agency AFP.

Biden said he had “laid out to him what the game plan was” regarding US support for Israel, adding that “The pope was across the board supportive.”

The Vatican earlier said the call, which lasted about 20 minutes, “focused on conflict situations in the world and the need to identify paths to peace.”

White House rejects calls for ceasefire

Prior to the US president’s remarks, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters that Washington has rejected calls to pause operations and said that a ceasefire would “give Hamas the ability to rest, to refit and to get ready to continue launching terrorist attacks against Israel.”

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday (Oct 23) that he expected the 27-nation bloc’s leaders to call jointly for a “humanitarian pause” to let aid into Gaza given the dire conditions.

However, Miller said that the US was separately working to ensure a flow of humanitarian relief into Gaza with its envoy, David Satterfield, on the ground working “intensively” on aid.

Israel had a “legitimate right” to strike against “a terrorist organisation that has embedded its infrastructure inside civilian buildings”, including schools and hospitals, said Miller when asked about Israeli strikes in Gaza.

He added that Washington is advising that Israel “should do that in a way that minimises to the maximum extent possible civilian harm".

(With inputs from agencies)

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