|
On Sunday, Hamas reiterated its demand for an end to the war in
exchange for the freeing of hostages, and Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu flatly ruled that out. Hamas also attacked
the Kerem Shalom crossing into Gaza that Israel said killed
three of its soldiers.
A Jordanian diplomat told Reuters Monday's meeting between Biden
and King Abdullah is not a formal bilateral meeting but an
informal private meeting.
It comes as the Biden administration and Israeli officials
remain at odds over Israel's planned military incursion in the
southern Gaza city of Rafah where it told Palestinians to start
evacuating some parts on Monday.
Biden last met King Abdullah at the White House in February and
the two longtime allies discussed a daunting list of challenges,
including the looming Israeli ground offensive in southern Gaza
and suffering of Palestinian civilians.
Jordan and other Arab states have been highly critical of
Israel's actions and have been demanding a ceasefire since
mid-October as civilian casualties began to skyrocket.
The war began after Hamas stunned Israel with a cross-border
raid on Oct. 7 in which 1,200 people were killed and 252
hostages taken, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 34,600 Palestinians have been killed and more than
77,000 wounded in Israel's assault, according to Gaza's health
ministry.
Biden last spoke to Netanyahu on April 28 and "reiterated his
clear position" on a possible invasion of Rafah, the White House
said. The U.S. president has been vocal in his demand that
Israel not undertake a ground offensive in Rafah without a plan
to protect Palestinian civilians.
With pro-Palestinian protests erupting across U.S. college
campuses, Biden faces increasing pressure politically to
convince Israel to hold off on an invasion. Biden addressed the
campus unrest over the war in Gaza last week but said the campus
protests had not forced him to reconsider his policies in the
Middle East.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose and Steve Holland in Washington;
Editing by Lincoln Feast)
[© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
