Looking to the future, Biden urges an end to “this cycle of violence”
Looking to the future, Biden urges an end to “this cycle of violence” and renews his resolve to pursue a two-state solution “where Israelis and Palestinians can one day live side by side…with equal measure of freedom and dignity”.
The US president says:
Over the coming days, I’ll remain engaged with leaders throughout the Middle East as we all work together to build a better future for the region.
A future where this kind of violence is unthinkable. A future where all children… Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Israeli, Palestinian Arab, grow up knowing only peace.
Joe Biden says the pause in fighting is a “critical” opportunity to deliver much needed food, medicine, water and fuel to the civilians in Gaza.
“We are not wasting one single minute,” he says, adding that he has been focused on accelerating the delivery of humanitarian systems to Gaza in coordination with the UN and the Red Cross.
More than 200 trucks carrying food, medicine, fuel and cooking gas arrived at the crossing point in Egypt into Gaza today, he says.
The fuel will be used not only to power the trucks delivering this life saving supplies, but for desalinisation for water wells for hospitals and for bakeries. Hundreds more trucks are getting in position as well, ready to enter Gaza over the coming days.
He says mechanisms have been put in place to prevent Hamas from diverting these supplies.
Joe Biden says all of the hostages who have been released today have been through a “terrible” ordeal and that this is the “beginning of a long journey of healing”.
The teddy bears waiting to greet those children at the hospital are a stark reminder of the trauma these children have been through at such a very young age.
Today has been a product of “a lot of hard work and weeks of personal engagement’” he says, adding that he and his teams have been working “around the clock” to secure the release of the hostages since they were first taken captive.
Biden says he has spoken repeatedly with the Emir of Qatar, President Sisi of Egypt, and Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu “to confirm the elements of the engagement”.
