A statement released by the White House said: “The president conveyed to the prime minister that he expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire
WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has told Israel’s PM Benjamin Netanyahu he expects a “significant de-escalation” in the Gaza conflict on Wednesday.
Mr Biden wanted a “path to ceasefire”, the White House said.
The US is a staunch ally of Israel and has so far opposed a joint UN Security Council statement on the conflict.
Earlier Mr Netanyahu said the Israeli military was “taking care of objectives”, adding “we’re not standing with a stopwatch”.
The conflict is in its 10th day, with a continuing exchange of rocket fire from Palestinian militants into Israel and Israeli air strikes on Gaza.
On Wednesday, four rockets were also fired from Lebanon into Israel and Israel’s military responded by firing artillery shells at “a number of targets in Lebanese territory”. It was not immediately clear whether this would prove to be a significant escalation.
The Gaza fighting began after weeks of rising Israeli-Palestinian tension in occupied East Jerusalem that culminated in clashes at a holy site revered by both Muslims and Jews. Hamas, which controls Gaza, began firing rockets after warning Israel to withdraw from the site, triggering retaliatory air strikes.
On Wednesday morning, Mr Biden held his fourth call with Mr Netanyahu since the conflict started.
A statement released by the White House said: “The president conveyed to the prime minister that he expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire.”
The US has called before for a truce but has held up any joint UN statement, saying it would not help with de-escalation.
The Palestinian representative at the UN, Riyad Mansour, called the Security Council’s failure to express a unified position “shameful”.
The latest bid for a council resolution calling for a ceasefire, launched by France, failed on Wednesday when the US said it could “undermine efforts to de-escalate”.
Meanwhile, Israeli fighter jets continued to pummel the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Wednesday, flattening residential buildings and killing at least four Palestinians, including a journalist.
The latest raids came as Palestinian groups launched more rockets towards cities in southern Israel. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Earlier, Israeli forces shot dead four other Palestinians and wounded scores more during protests and an historic general strike in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.
At least 227 Palestinians, including 64 children, have been killed in Gaza since the latest violence flared on May 10. More than 1,600 Palestinians have been wounded.
Twelve people in Israel have died, including two children, while at least 300 Israelis have been wounded.
Despite the escalating violence – now in its tenth day – diplomatic efforts for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza’s Hamas rulers have failed to make much headway.
The United States continued to block the UN Security Council from issuing a joint statement urging an end to the hostilities, telling diplomats that a public statement would not help calm the tensions.
France, however, says it is working with Israel’s neighbors, Egypt and Jordan, on a new ceasefire resolution. China said it was “supportive” of the French proposal.
