Using his Eid al-Adha speech to Muslims, President Joe Biden argued on Sunday that a US-backed ceasefire agreement in Gaza was the best approach to assist civilians suffering from the “horrors of war between Hamas and Israel.”
“Too many innocent people have been killed, including thousands of children. Families have fled their homes and seen their communities destroyed. Their pain is immense,” Biden said in a statement.
“I strongly believe that the three-phase ceasefire proposal Israel has made to Hamas and that the UN Security Council has endorsed is the best way to end the violence in Gaza and ultimately end the war,” he added.
Israel and Hamas have been under pressure from the US to formally embrace the cease-fire agreement approved by the Security Council last week, which calls for an initial six-week break in hostilities.
A rare day of relative calm occurred in Gaza on Eid al-Adha, the day that commemorates the prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son to God, when Israel declared a “tactical pause” in the combat near Rafah to allow humanitarian supplies.
The president emphasized US initiatives to “advocate for the rights of other Muslim communities” that are subject to discrimination, such as the Uyghurs in China and the Rohingya in Myanmar.
He said “we’re also working to bring a peaceful resolution to the horrific conflict in Sudan,” which has been gripped by fighting between the country’s army and a rival paramilitary group since April 2023.
In an attempt to directly appeal to American Muslims, who are a crucial vote bloc in the Democratic candidate’s reelection campaign against Republican opponent Donald Trump, Biden also pledged in his speech on Sunday to combat Islamophobia on the home front.
“My Administration is creating a national strategy to counter Islamophobia and related forms of bias and discrimination, which affect not only Muslims, but also Arab, Sikh, and South Asian Americans,” Biden said.
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