In a call on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Joe Biden “conveyed to the Prime Minister that he expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire,” according to a readout of the conversation released by the White House. “The two leaders had a detailed discussion on the state of events in Gaza, Israel’s progress in degrading the capabilities of Hamas and other terrorist elements, and ongoing diplomatic efforts by regional governments and the United States,” the official summary says, before making note of Biden’s appeal for peace, the strongest words yet from the administration on the rapidly expanding death toll in the latest battle between Israel and Hamas. Netanyahu previously said that Israel is “taking care of objectives,” and that its military is “not standing with a stopwatch.”
