United States President Joe Biden says he’s “very concerned” that the violence in the Middle East could escalate, adding that the killing of a top Hamas leader in Iran has “not helped” efforts to negotiate a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war.
Biden said he’d had a “very direct” conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday. “We have the basis for a cease-fire. He should move on it and they should move on it now.”
Netanyahu has said his country was determined to win nothing less than “total victory” against Hamas. He also said that Israel hoped for a cease-fire soon and was working for one.
The assassinations of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on Wednesday and senior Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur in Beirut on Tuesday risks escalating the fighting into an all-out regional war, with Iran also threatening to respond after the attack on its territory. Israel has vowed to kill Hamas leaders over the group’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the war.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was among the growing voices internationally calling for a cease-fire in recent days, saying that it was the only way to begin to break the cycle of violence and suffering.
___
Here’s the latest:
NICOSIA, Cyprus — Cyprus’ foreign minister says authorities are in touch with the diplomatic missions of nations that may opt to evacuate their citizens through the east Mediterranean island nation if the Israeli-Hamas war expands to engulf neighboring countries.
Minister Constantinos Kombos said Friday agencies have been mobilized as part of the country’s long-standing evacuation action plan called ESTIA. He said there’s a “serious danger” of conflict expanding further, which would affect the entire region.
Kombos said Cyprus’ role is to “operate as a bridge of safety” in the region in the event of mass evacuations of third-country citizens from the Middle East.
In 2023, Cyprus acted as a waystation for third-country evacuees from Sudan and Israel after the start of the Israel-Hamas war. The island nation also helped in the evacuation of tens of thousands of third-country nationals during the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah conflict.
MELBOURNE, Australia — An Australian investigation has found the Israeli military’s attack on an aid convoy in Gaza that killed seven people resulted from serious failures of defense procedures, mistaken identification, and bad decisions.
Australian Zomi Frankcom was among those killed in the April 1 Israeli drone strikes on three World Central Kitchen vehicles. The report released Friday says the convoy’s armed security guards were likely mistaken for Hamas operatives. Two Israeli officers were dismissed and three reprimanded, but Frankcom’s family says more should be done.
Former Australian Defense Force Chief Mark Binskin was appointed as Australia’s special adviser on the matter. He says Israel should apologize to the families.
A family representative issued a statement Friday welcoming Binskin’s report as an “important first step.”
“We hope it will be followed by further investigations in Israel regarding those responsible for this tragic event, followed by appropriate action,” the family statement said.
ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is appealing to his countrymen to observe a day of mourning and hold special funeral prayers in absentia for the Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in the Iranian capital of Tehran.
Such prayers are held when the body of any person is from the country.
Sharif in his televised remarks Friday said he will also attend a special funeral service for Haniyeh at a mosque at his sprawling office in the capital, Islamabad.
He denounced the killing of the Hamas leader in his brief remarks shortly before Pakistan’s parliament approved a resolution to express solidarity with the Palestinian people. The resolution also called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and denounced the killing of the Hamas leader.
JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Maryland — President Joe Biden said late Thursday he’s “very concerned” that the violence in the Middle East could escalate, adding that the killing of a top Hamas leader in Iran has “not helped” efforts to negotiate a cease-fire in Israel’s war with Gaza.
Biden said he’d had a “very direct” conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day, repeating “very direct” for emphasis.
He added: “We have the basis for a cease-fire. He should move on it and they should move on it now.”
Biden spoke on the tarmac of an air base outside Washington after welcoming back to the United States three Americans who were freed in a prisoner swap earlier in the day.
