Israel-Palestine Sudden Ceasefire... Biden Welcomes "Opportunity to Make Progress"

Photo by The New York Times

[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] On the 20th (local time), U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed the surprise ceasefire announcement between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas and promised humanitarian aid, according to reports by The Washington Post (WP) and others.

In a brief White House speech that afternoon, President Biden expressed his welcome, saying, "I believe we have a genuine opportunity to make progress."

He praised both sides for reaching a mutual unconditional ceasefire agreement and expressed condolences to the people of Israel and Palestine who endured one of the bloodiest conflicts in the region.

He said, "I believe that the people of Palestine and Israel equally deserve to live safely and securely, enjoying equal freedom, prosperity, and democracy," adding, "The United States will continue quiet and persistent diplomacy toward that goal."

President Biden also stated that the U.S. is committed to cooperating with the United Nations for humanitarian assistance.

He acknowledged the Egyptian government's crucial role in mediating the ceasefire and said that he and senior White House advisors were involved around the clock in efforts to prevent further bloodshed.

Following the armed conflict between the two sides, President Biden increased pressure for a ceasefire through four phone calls with Prime Minister Netanyahu. It is also reported that Biden held a phone call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi the day before to discuss achieving the ceasefire.

Israel and Hamas, which had engaged in intense bloodshed for ten days since the 10th, agreed to a ceasefire on this day.

Israel issued a statement saying, "The ceasefire will proceed unconditionally on both sides," and Hamas confirmed its acceptance of the ceasefire plan, announcing that both sides would enter into a ceasefire starting at 2 a.m. on the 21st.

This conflict is considered the bloodiest since the 2014 ‘50-day war’ between Israel and Hamas, which resulted in over 2,000 deaths.

In this armed conflict, 232 people, including 61 children, were killed and about 1,900 injured in the Gaza Strip, while Israel reported 12 deaths and over 300 injuries.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.