President Joe Biden on Sunday spoke again with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as pressure builds on Israel and Hamas to reach a deal that would free some Israeli hostages and bring a cease-fire in the nearly seven-month-long war in Gaza, according to a White House statement.
The backdrop for the conservation is weeks of protests at U.S. colleges in which demonstrators support Palestinians, led by Hamas, and are calling for the schools to divest from Israel.
The White House said that Biden reiterated his “clear position” as Israel plans to invade Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah despite global concern for more than 1 million Palestinians sheltering there.
The U.S. opposes the invasion on humanitarian grounds, straining relations between the allies. Israel is among the countries U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit as he returns to the Middle East on Monday.
Biden also stressed that progress in delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza be “sustained and enhanced,” according to the statement.
The call lasted just under an hour, and they agreed the onus remains on Hamas to accept the latest offer in negotiations, according to a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the official wasn’t authorized to comment publicly. There was no comment from Netanyahu’s office.
