White House says US does not support calls for Gaza ceasefire

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also ruled out ceasefire in Gaza

The White House has reiterated that it was not in favour of calling for a ceasefire in Gaza where Israeli attacks since 7 October killed more than 8,500 Palestinians, including more than 3000 children.

“We do not believe that a ceasefire is the right answer right now,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby reportedly said.

Mr Kirby said the “first goal” for the US was to get up to 100 trucks each day across the border, ABC News reported.

He said Joe Biden spoke with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, during which the US president “did receive a commitment that the Israelis will endeavour to support a significant increase in the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza”.

He also claimed that Mr Netanyahu was making “efforts” to minimize civilian casualties in Gaza.

Mr Kirby told reporters: “Without getting into, reacting to events on the ground in real-time, which we are just not going to do, this is a conversation we consistently have at had with our Israeli counterparts.

“That was part of the discussion yesterday with the prime minister, and you heard the prime minister today speaking in Tel Aviv about the efforts that they’re undertaking to try to avoid civilian casualties, and I think that they certainly are making that effort.”

His comments came at a time when the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees told a UN emergency meeting on Monday “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire has become a matter of life and death for millions”, accusing Israel of “collective punishment” of Palestinians and the forced displacement of civilians.

Philippe Lazzarini warned that a further breakdown of civil order following the looting of the agency’s warehouses by Palestinians searching for food and other aid “will make it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the largest UN agency in Gaza to continue operating.”

On Monday, Mr Netanyahu also refused to call for a ceasefire after the Israeli military rescued a female soldier who was taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October.

“Just as the US would not agree to a ceasefire after the bombing of Pearl Harbour or after the terrorist attack of 9/11, Israel will not agree to a cessation of hostilities with Hamas after the horrific attacks of 7 October,” he said. “Calls for a ceasefire are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas, to surrender to terrorism.”

On Tuesday, Israel reiterated that it was striking Hamas targets throughout the Gaza Strip as IDF expanded ground operations over recent days.

The US, on Friday, was among 14 countries that opposed the UN vote for a humanitarian truce in Gaza.

According to a Reuters report, Hamas’s armed wing of al-Qassam brigades said militants clashed early on Tuesday with Israeli forces “invading the southern Gaza axis, (including) with machine guns, and targeted four vehicles with al-Yassin 105 missiles”.

In a recent post on X/Twitter, the IDF stated that it has targeted 300 sites in Gaza within the past 24 hours.