IDF says terrorists who breached Gaza buffer zone emerged from tunnel near Israeli border (2024)

U.S. President Joe Biden told ABC News on Thursday that he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took American concerns over a military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah into account.

"I think he's listening to me. They were going to go into […] Rafah […] full bore, invade all of Rafah, go into the city, take it out, move, move with full force. They haven't done that," Biden said.

"And what they've done is they've agreed to a significant agreement," Biden added, referring to the three-stage Israeli-American proposal that he unveiled earlier this week.

Biden also that that Hamas still has to accept the proposal. "It's being backed by Egypt, being backed by the Saudis, being backed by the almost the whole Arab world. We'll see, this is a very difficult time."

Asked whether the Israeli prime minister is supportive of the deal on the table, Biden replied "publicly said he is."

"We have to get to a ceasefire," he added.

The U.S. military said on Thursday it had destroyed eight Houthi drones and two uncrewed surface vessels in the Red Sea in the past 24 hours.

The U.S. military's Central Command said its forces had also successfully engaged a drone launched from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen and that Houthis had launched an anti-ship ballistic missile. There were no reports of damage or injury, it said.

WASHINGTON - Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address a joint session of Congress on July 24, according to Punchbowl News — six weeks after the originally intended date that has since been delayed due to the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.

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Britain's opposition Labour Party is expected to include a pledge to recognize a Palestinian state at an appropriate time in peace talks in its election manifesto, the Guardian newspaper reported, citing people with knowledge of the document.

The manifesto, which sets out the party's policies ahead of the vote on July 4, will also pledge to ensure that recognizing a Palestinian state is not vetoed by a "neighboring country", the newspaper reported.

Labour leader Keir Starmer said last month that he wanted to recognize a Palestinian state if he won power, but that such a move would need to come at the right time in a peace process.

Foreign Secretary David Cameron, a Conservative, said in January that Britain could formally recognize a Palestinian state if Palestinians had shown "irreversible progress" towards a two state solution, according to reports at the time.

Labour's pledge appears to be similar in substance, but including it in the manifesto could help to appease some voters who have been critical of the party's stance on the war in Gaza.

The manifesto will be finalized in a meeting with unions on Friday and will be presented next Thursday, the report said.

Labour did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.

Spain, Ireland and Norway last month officially recognized a Palestinian state, seeking to accelerate efforts to secure a ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza. Slovenia also formally recognized Palestinian statehood on Tuesday.

"We expect israel to uphold its stated commitment to human rights and press freedom. We expect them to protect journalists from these kinds of assaults, and if there violations of criminal law, we expect people to be held fully accountable," said U.S. State Department spokesperson Matt Miller, in reference to the incident in the Jerusalem Day Flag March on Wednesday, in which Haaretz journalist Nir Hasson was attacked by right-wing youth, as several assailants knocked Hasson to the ground and kicked him, until Border Police officers intervened.

"We've seen the videos of this incident and strongly condemn them. journalists and media workers are essential to democracy, they should not be attacked anywhere in the world – including israel – for doing their jobs," Miller said.

Miller also said the U.S. has been in contact with Israel regarding the IDF strike in an UNRWA school in Gaza, and that they expect Israel to be fully transparent in making information public about the incident.