Biden holds phone call with Saudi Crown Prince MBS in bid to stop war ‘expanding’ in the Middle East and to ask for help in getting $100 million in US aid to Gaza quicker
President Joe Biden spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday about getting humanitarian aid to reach Gaza faster as Israel has stepped up its bombing campaign and launched 400 airstrikes against Hamas.
The United States and Saudi Arabia have had a tense relationship, but the two leaders spoke about how “much more is needed” for civilians in Gaza “to have sustainable access to food, water and medical assistance,” according to a readout of the report. White House. the call.
Biden also spoke with MBS, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, about preventing the war from spreading.
The two discussed “ongoing diplomatic and military efforts to deter state and non-state actors from expanding the conflict between Israel and Hamas,” the White House said. The US is concerned that groups linked to Iran and Iraq could use the Israeli-Hamas conflict to launch attacks in the region.
President Joe Biden has expressed concern that aid is not reaching Gaza quickly enough
The president, meanwhile, expressed concern about the 2.3 million people in Gaza who have been left without food, water and medicine since Israel sealed off the area following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on towns in southern Israel.
Biden, asked at a White House event whether aid was getting into Gaza fast enough, replied: “Not fast enough.”
His comment came as Israel hit the Gaza Strip with a barrage of airstrikes that crushed several residential buildings and buried families under rubble.
Israel is also putting pressure on the Palestinians to help release the more than 200 hostages. The Israeli army dropped leaflets in Gaza asking for information on the whereabouts of the hostages, promising in return a reward and protection for the informant’s home.
“If you want a better future for you and your children, do the right thing and share verified and valuable information about hostages being held in your area. And the Israeli army promises you that it will make maximum efforts to secure you and your home, and that you will receive a financial reward. We guarantee you complete confidentiality. The Israeli Defense Forces,” according to a CNN translation.
The White House has urged the immediate release of all hostages, but also admitted that it does not know the location of all of them.
“We are not completely sure of the location of each hostage. And we’re working to get more granularity on that, and we saw yesterday that two more came out, obviously that’s just a small portion of the stockpile that we think Hamas has. But we believe the efforts to continue negotiating for the release of additional hostages are worthwhile,” White House spokesman John Kirby said.
Kirby also noted that no humanitarian aid entered Gaza on Tuesday.
“We hope the materials can enter Gaza tomorrow,” U.N. aid spokesman Eri Kaneko said.
The first convoy of 20 trucks crossed the border from Egypt to Gaza on Saturday, and the second convoy arrived the next day.
A total of 54 trucks entered Gaza carrying food, medicine and water, which UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described as “a drop of aid in an ocean of need.”
More than 200 trucks carrying 3,000 tons of aid are waiting at the Egyptian border for Israeli approval to enter Gaza.
The trucks carry World Health Organization (WHO) medical supplies, food and bottled water.
President Joe Biden spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (above right) about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza
Trucks carrying humanitarian aid bound for the Gaza Strip wait to pass through Egypt’s Rafah border crossing
The United States has also expressed concern that fuel is running out, noting that it is needed for hospital facilities and to convert salt water into fresh water.
However, Israel said it fears any fuel deliveries could end up with Hamas.
Kirby described Israel’s concerns Tuesday as legitimate, but noted that citizens still need them.
“We still believe, just in general, that the fuel should be able to reach the people of Gaza,” he said.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees said on Tuesday it will have to halt its operations in Gaza on Wednesday evening if fuel is not delivered to the area.
More than 4,600 Palestinians, more than a third of whom were children, have been killed in the brutal bombings. Israel says it is targeting Hamas fighters who killed more than 1,400 people in the Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel.
And facilities in Gaza are struggling to address the causes. A total of 46 of 72 primary health care facilities and 12 of 35 hospitals have stopped functioning, the World Health Organization said.
Gaza’s five main hospitals were all filled beyond capacity, the territory’s health ministry said.
The Biden administration is pressuring Israel to delay its ground invasion of Gaza to buy time for the release of more hostages and more aid to enter the war-torn region.
And Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday called on UN Security Council member states to use their power to prevent the war between Israel and Hamas from spreading further.
He focused mainly on concerns about Iran and its allies.
“To all members of this council: If you, like the United States, want to prevent this conflict from spreading, say to Iran, tell its allies in public, in private, in every way possible: in this situation, do not open new front against Israel. conflict. Do not attack Israel’s partners,” Blinken said.