President Joe Biden has warned Israel that it would be a “big mistake” to occupy Gaza in retaliation for deadly attacks by Hamas. Biden made a call for restraint in an interview with CBS that was broadcast on Sunday.<\/p>\n
“What happened in Gaza, in my view, is Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people. And I think that…It would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again,” Biden told interviewer of the “60 Minutes” program.<\/p>\n
Biden said he believes that Hamas must be eliminated entirely. “But there needs to be a Palestinian authority. There needs to be a path to a Palestinian state.”<\/p>\n
The Biden administration has consistently been calling for a two state solution for the protracted Middle East conflict.<\/p>\n
Israel is preparing for a ground attack into the thickly populated enclave and has warned more than a million people in northern Gaza to evacuate southwards.<\/p>\n
U.S. Secretary Of State Antony Blinken is in Middle East, and has been busy shuttling between countries in the region with diplomatic efforts to ease the situation.<\/p>\n
Blinken has arrived in Israel on Monday, and is meetings with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, reports say.<\/p>\n
He returned to Israel after meeting with leaders of six countries in the region: Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. <\/p>\n
“What I’ve heard from virtually every partner was a determination, a shared view that we have to do everything possible to make sure this doesn’t spread to other places; a shared view to safeguard innocent lives; a shared view to get assistance to Palestinians in Gaza who need it, and we’re working very much on that,” he told reporters in Cairo airport before flying to Jerusalem.<\/p>\n
Thousands of Palestinians are waiting at the Rafah border crossing to flee Gaza ahead of the Israeli ground offensive.<\/p>\n
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of a potential “abyss in the Middle East,” as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepened with Israel cutting off power, fuel and water to the enclave.<\/p>\n
He called on Hamas to free the hostages unconditionally, and to Israel to grant aid “for humanitarian supplies and workers for the sake of the civilians in Gaza.”<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Israel revised the number of people in Hamas custody in Gaza to 199 from 150.<\/p>\n
Twenty nine U.S. citizens were killed and fifteen others are missing in October 7 lightning attack by Hamas in Israeli cities. Some of the missing Americans are among hostages. <\/p>\n