With his muted response to the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, US President Joe Biden is largely committed to the usual US stance, despite progressive Democrats 'pressure to toughen Israel and US allies' pressure to demand a more active role to end the violence.

Biden effectively allowed more time for the Israeli forces to continue their offensive against the Palestinian factions by referring to Israel's right to defend itself against the rockets launched from the Gaza Strip, and contenting itself with hinting only to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a ceasefire.

Sources familiar with the course of affairs say that US officials hope that the two sides will reach a point where they will be ready to end the attacks in the coming days, and that quiet diplomacy behind the scenes from regional parties - such as Egypt - will help achieve a cessation of hostilities.

However, Biden’s effort to carefully pass the crisis in the Gaza Strip will be a test case if the fighting intensifies and the civilian death toll rises sharply.

"There is a rulebook that is being followed, but there is always room for the unpredictable," said Aaron David Miller, former Middle East peace negotiator.

Biden made clear when he took office last January that he wanted to focus on the Corona virus pandemic, economic recession at home, and challenges such as China, Russia and Iran abroad.

Seeking a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has been a nuisance to American presidents for decades, was not a priority for Biden, although he promised to review some of the policies of his predecessor, Donald Trump, which were widely seen as heavily biased towards Israel and have alienated the Palestinians.

Weeks passed before Biden spoke with the right-wing Netanyahu, who has strong ties to Trump.

The recent outbreak of violence in Gaza surprised the new administration, and its responses so far have been consistent with a familiar pattern of reaction.

Biden - an old ally of Israel during his decades in the Senate and as vice president - began to support Israel's right to self-defense in the face of missile attacks, which successive presidents have repeatedly said about Israel, Washington's main ally in the Middle East.

This comes at a time when the Biden administration has sought, without success, to assuage Israel's fears as it negotiates its possible return to the nuclear agreement concluded with Iran in 2015.

Biden did not move to show support for the ceasefire until Monday, after Israel destroyed a Gaza building housing the offices of the Associated Press and Al Jazeera, and Israel said it also housed offices for Hamas.

However, the White House made it clear that it was not asking Israel to agree to the cease-fire, apparently out of concern for it not to antagonize it.

Pressure from progressives

The current fighting is the most dangerous chapter in the conflict between the Palestinian factions and Israel in years, and in a new development that differs from previous bouts of conflict in Gaza, the fighting contributed to confrontations inside Israeli cities between Jews and Palestinians.

Medical officials in Gaza say that 219 Palestinians were killed - including 63 children - and more than 1,400 wounded, and the Israeli authorities say that 12 people were killed in Israel, including two children.

Based on the big difference in human losses, some progressive Democrats are calling for Biden to take a firmer stance on Israel.

This group of Democrats helped Biden win the Democratic nomination and reach the presidency.

"We need to reach a ceasefire. The president should demand it and not just say he supports it," said US Representative Ro Khanna.

Biden has so far shown no sign of budging from his position, and the left-leaning Democrats may not be ready for a direct confrontation with him.

On Monday, the Democrat-led House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs Committee met, and after the meeting some members said that its chairman, Representative Gregory Meeks, intended to send a letter asking Biden to postpone a planned $ 735 million sale of smart bombs to Israel.

However, by midday on Tuesday, Mix had decided not to send the message.

Republicans have sought to use the Gaza conflict to criticize Biden and the Democrats, and pro-Israel voters represent a major proportion of the Republican voter base, and many of Israel's supporters are Democrats and independents.

The leader of the Republican minority in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, said, "Whoever calls for a ceasefire is basically proposing moral equality between Israel and Hamas, which the United States considers a terrorist organization."

McConnell added that there are a large number of Democrats who want to betray Israel, he said.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration found itself isolated in the Gaza issue at the United Nations, as the United States obstructed any action by the Security Council regarding developments, and said that it would not contribute to easing the crisis, and that it would continue intense diplomacy.

However, Biden has not yet announced the name of his ambassador to Israel, and he sent a middle-level official, Hadi Amr, deputy assistant secretary of state, to the region instead of sending a more senior envoy.

In the coming days, the administration wants to walk a path that will lead to what a source familiar with the situation described as a humanitarian respite from violence, to allow relief aid to be delivered to Gaza and to achieve sustainable calm.

The source said that the Biden administration is believed to be preparing important initiatives regarding the reconstruction of Gaza.

Biden faced this issue on Tuesday during a trip to Michigan, where he was received by US Representative Rashida Tlaib, the first Palestinian American to enter Congress, and she is one of the prominent progressive Democrats.

Taleb told Biden that "Palestinian rights must be protected, not negotiated," according to what one of her supporters said.