US reiterates opposition to Gaza ceasefire, says it is not 'right answer right now'

WASHINGTON

The White House reiterated its opposition to a humanitarian ceasefire in the besieged Gaza Strip Monday, saying it would only benefit Hamas.

"We do not believe that a ceasefire is the right answer right now. We believe that a ceasefire right now benefits Hamas," National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. "Hamas is the only one that would gain from that right now as Israel continues to prosecute their operations against Hamas leadership."

Rather than a wider ceasefire or truce to end ongoing hostilities that have claimed thousands of lives, the US has promoted localized humanitarian pauses to facilitate the delivery of badly needed international assistance, and potentially evacuate people seeking to flee the violence.

Kirby said that during a telephone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, US President Joe Biden "did receive a commitment that the Israelis will endeavor to support a significant increase in the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza."

On Friday, the US was among just 14 nations who opposed a non-binding UN General Assembly resolution that called for an immediate "durable and sustained humanitarian truce" in Gaza.

The resolution, which was presented by nearly 50 countries, including Türkiye, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was overwhelmingly approved by a vote of 120-14, with 45 nations abstaining.

The resolution condemned "all acts of violence against Palestinian and Israeli civilians, including all acts of terror and indiscriminate attacks, as well as all acts of provocation, incitement and destruction."

It also demanded that "all parties immediately and fully comply with their obligations under international law." The resolution emphasized the importance of "preventing further destabilization and escalation of violence in the region."

Israel decried the resolution as "despicable" and rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Palestinian enclave.

Israel widened its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip over the weekend amid relentless airstrikes since the surprise attack by Hamas on Oct. 7 led to the death of over 1,400 people in Israel with over 200 others taken back to Gaza as hostages.

The number of dead in Gaza has surpassed 8,300, including 3,457 children and 2,136 women, according to the enclave's Health Ministry.

Kirby said the Biden administration is "gonna keep doing everything we can to work with our Israeli counterparts on the minimization of civilian casualties," adding that Israel is "certainly making that effort" to do so.

"It doesn't mean that there haven't been civilian casualties. Tragically, there have been many thousands of them. But, unlike Putin in Ukraine, and unlike what Hamas did on Oct. 7, killing civilians is not a war aim of the Israeli Defense Forces. Their war aim is to go after Hamas terrorists," Kirby said, referring to Israel's military.