Biden Says ‘Chances Are Real’ For Extending ‘Israel’-Gaza Truce

By Staff, Agencies

US President Joe Biden said there is a “real” chance that a four-day pause in the Zionist war on Gaza could be extended.

“I think the chances are real,” he told reporters on Friday, while also refusing to speculate on how long the war that started on October 7 after a surprise Hamas operation inside the ‘Israeli’-occupied Palestinian territories could last.

“My expectation and hope are that as we move forward, the rest of the Arab world and the region is also putting pressure on all sides to slow this down, to bring this to an end as quickly as we can,” Biden said, while reiterating his support for the Zionist regime.

He claimed that “eliminating” Hamas remains a “legitimate” mission for ‘Israel.’

Biden only said he has “encouraged” Zionist Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to try to limit civilian casualties.

About 15,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been martyred so far in ‘Israeli’ bombardments since October 7.

Under the terms of the truce, which came into effect early on Friday, 50 women and children held in Gaza are to be released over four days, in exchange for 150 Palestinian women and children who are among thousands detained in ‘Israeli’ jails.

On Friday, 39 Palestinian detainees were released in the occupied West Bank in exchange for Hamas releasing 24 captives, including 13 ‘Israelis.’ More are expected to be released on Saturday afternoon.

Both ‘Israel’ and Hamas have promised that they will continue to fight, but ‘Israel’ has signaled it is open to extending the truce if more captives are released at a rate of 10 per day – something Biden said he hoped would come to pass.

Hamas has said the non-civilian ‘Israelis’ it is holding will only be exchanged for the thousands of Palestinians who are languishing in ‘Israeli’ prisons in harsh conditions, many of them held without charge.

About 200 trucks with humanitarian aid also made their way into the besieged enclave as part of the truce on Friday, with the first deliveries into northern Gaza since the start of the war arriving on Saturday.

But the level of destruction remains high both in the north and in the south of the Gaza Strip, and the United Nations confirmed on Friday that ‘Israel’ significantly ramped up its attacks in Gaza before the truce came into effect.