Biden continues pushing for Gaza cease-fire

The United States is working with leaders in Egypt and Qatar to negotiate a cease-fire deal in Gaza, President Joe Biden said statement Tuesday. The release of hostages being held by Hamas is the only thing preventing an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, Biden wrote on social media. Biden’s message came as Secretary of State Antony Blinken continued to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on the ground in the Middle East to reduce tensions.

Is Israel still planning to invade Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip? With or without a deal, Israel will enter the city and eliminate the Hamas battalions there, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday in a statement. There’s been little international support for the planned invasion. A ground operation in Rafah would be a tragedy that no humanitarian plan could counter, said United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled to Rafah to escape disease, famine, mass graves, and direct fighting, Griffiths said. Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court has discussed issuing arrest warrants against senior Israeli government and military officials for war crimes.

What has Israel said of the ICC threats? Netanyahu released a video on Tuesday condemning the possible warrants and calling on world leaders to do the same. He described warrants as an outrage of historic proportions that would only incite more global anti-Semitism. Israel is a democratic country fighting for its life according to the rules of war, he said. Hamas places weapons, and terrorists throughout civilian areas to win immunity and maximize civilian casualties. They show no care for the lives of Palestinians and even steal humanitarian aid meant for civilians, Netanyahu said.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report on a preliminary ruling from the UN International Court of Justice on accusations that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.