US President Joe Biden expressed Monday, May 17, during an exchange with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his "support" for a ceasefire in the face of escalating violence.

"The president has expressed his support for a ceasefire," said the White House in a very cautious report, at a time when many voices are raised in the Democratic camp for Joe Biden to explicitly demand an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.

During this telephone conversation, he referred to the ongoing discussions with Egypt "and other partners" to achieve this, the text said.

"Discreet" but "intensive" approach

Asked during her daily press briefing on what some in the Democratic camp believe to be a lack of firmness vis-à-vis Israel, Jen Psaki, the spokeswoman for the White House, defended the "discreet" diplomatic approach but Washington's "intensive" on this file.

The United States on Monday opposed, for the third time in a week, the adoption of a UN Security Council declaration calling for "an end to violence" between Israelis and Palestinians, pushing for the convocation Tuesday of a new emergency meeting behind closed doors.

If Joe Biden reaffirmed "the right of Israel to defend itself", he also, during this exchange, "encouraged" the Hebrew state to "make all possible efforts to ensure the protection of innocent civilians", further asserts the feedback.

For his part, the American chief of staff, General Mark Milley, warned Israel on Monday of the risks of the conflict with Hamas widening beyond Gaza, stressing that "no one has an interest in continuing the fighting" .

Raids continue in Gaza

Israeli bombardments on the Gaza Strip resumed on Monday, at the end of a black week that left 200 people dead in the Palestinian enclave, with no prospect of a truce between Israel and the Hamas movement, which continues to fire rockets.

During the night from Monday to Tuesday, the raids continued on the Palestinian enclave: shortly after midnight Israeli fighter jets released several missiles on buildings in Gaza City and the blasts set the sky of the enclave ablaze. coast, AFP journalists noted.

Since the start of hostilities on May 10, 200 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including at least 59 children, and more than 1,300 injured, according to a Palestinian report.

On the Israeli side, 10 people were killed, including a child, and 294 injured after rocket fire.

Fatah called for a "day of anger" and a general strike on Tuesday, a call also relayed in Israeli Arab towns and in "mixed" towns in Israel, where tensions between Jews and Arabs remain high. 

With AFP

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