The President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, agreed this Sunday that “there will be a continuous flow of assistance” to Gaza during a telephone conversation about the region in conflict. Meanwhile, both Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant has already warned that the ground incursion into Gaza in the next phase of the war “may last months,” but when it ends “Hamas will no longer exist.”

“The ground offensive must be the last maneuver in Gaza, for the simple reason that after it there will be no more Hamas,” said the minister during a visit to the Israeli Air Force command center in Tel Aviv. “It will take a month, two or three, but in the end there will be no Hamayes“, he stressed. Israel has not yet decided to enter the Gaza Strip by land, but yes it is bombing the entire enclave, including civil infrastructure.

As for the conversation between Biden and Netanyahu, it comes at a time when the Gaza Strip received for the second consecutive day humanitarian aid, mostly medicine, water and food, through the Rafah border crossing, which links the Egyptian Sinai with the Gaza Strip. “The leaders stated that there will now be a continuous flow of this critical assistance to Gaza“, indicates the statement from the White House.

It also highlights that Biden welcomed the first two humanitarian aid convoys to arrive in the Gaza Strip since October 7, when the surprise attack by the Islamist group Hamas on Israel then unleashed an offensive against Gaza, leaving the city ​​completely besieged.

Release of US hostages

Biden thanked Israel for its help in achieving the release last Friday of the American hostages Judith and her daughter Natalie Raanan, who were visiting Israel to celebrate a family member’s birthday along with the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah when they were taken hostage by Hamas.

According to the White House, Biden and Netanyahu have discussed efforts to ensure the release of all the hostages and to provide safe passage for U.S. citizens and other civilians in Gaza who wish to leave the area.

Biden has also spoken with Pope Francis about the efforts being made by the United States to “guarantee” the delivery of humanitarian aid and the need to avoid an escalation in the region and work for lasting peace in the Middle East.