Speaking to a heckler at a campaign rally in Minnesota on Wednesday night, President Joe Biden expressed his belief that the Israeli-Hamas conflict should “pause” temporarily in order to free “prisoners” from Gaza.
In the US state in the north, the 80-year-old Democrat was speaking to about 200 supporters when someone in the crowd called out to him.
“As a rabbi, I need you to call for a ceasefire right now,” she said, referring to the deadly conflict between Israel and Hamas.
The president responded: “I think we need a pause. A pause means giving time to get the prisoners out.”
When questioned about his comments, the White House subsequently made it clear that the president was talking to Hamas hostages when he used the word “prisoners”.
Continuing his conversation with the woman, Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “Bibi.”
“I’m the guy that convinced Bibi to call for a ceasefire to let the prisoners out. I’m the guy that talked to (Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-)Sisi to convince him to open the door” along Gaza’s border with Egypt to allow freed hostages to leave.
The recent release of two US captives who had been held by the Palestinian Islamist group was the topic of conversation, according to Biden.
Though it has so far refused to consider a ceasefire, the White House believes that it would only serve to strengthen Hamas’s position. The White House has previously advocated for “humanitarian pauses” to allow aid to be brought into Gaza or to carry out evacuations.
On Wednesday, the Israeli-Hamas war entered its 26th day.
The Israeli army has been bombing the Gaza Strip nonstop in retribution for Hamas’s horrific attack on October 7 and has begun a more extended ground campaign into the region.
