(VOVWORLD) - President Joe Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday as the violence in Israel and the Gaza Strip escalated.
 Rockets are fired towards Israel from Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on May 14, 2021. (Photo: AFP/VNA)
|
In the separate phone call with Biden, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was doing everything possible to avoid harming civilians. He emphasized that Israel attacked Gaza buildings used by Hamas and the IDF gave an advanced warning for civilians to evacuate.
Biden also updated Palestinian leader Abbas on US diplomatic engagement stressed the need for Hamas to cease firing rockets into Israel, the White House said.
He underscored his strong commitment to a negotiated two-state solution as the best path to reach a just and lasting resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
This has been the first phone call between the two since Biden took office in January.
In related news, Qatar’s Foreign Minister on Saturday met with Ismail Haniyeh, the political chief of Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, to show Qatar's support for its "Palestinian brothers". Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani called for an end to Israel's bombardment of Gaza.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Saturday was "dismayed" by civilian casualties in Gaza and "deeply disturbed" by Israel's strike on a tower housing news bureaus. He said acts of violence against civilian and media facilities violate international law and should be avoided "at all costs".
Malaysia and Indonesia called on the UN Security Council (UNSC) to intervene and stop Israel's strikes on the Gaza Strip, as the conflict between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants raged on. In Saturday’s phone conversation, Malaysia's Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo agreed that Israel's actions must be stopped immediately. They urged the international community, especially the UNSC, to act swiftly to cease all forms of violence committed by Israel and save the lives of Palestinians.
Malaysia has established an #Aid4Palestine secretariat gathering more than 40 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to help the Palestinian struggle against the escalating conflicts in the Gaza Strip.
Mass protests have taken place in France, Belgium, and Canada calling for an end to violence.
On Saturday, the Biden administration notified Congress that it will send millions of USD in assistance to the Palestinians.
The State Department said last Friday that the money is part of more than 100 million USD that the administration allocated to the Palestinians earlier this year, reversing a near total cutoff in support under former President Donald Trump.