Amid the escalation between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas, the UN has warned of the possibility of a “large-scale war”, notes the British newspaper The Independent. The statement was made against the background of the death toll – 72 people, including 17 children, on the third day of the escalation of the situation.
World leaders have called on both sides to ease tensions. And Joe Biden, facing his first serious test in foreign policy as president of the United States, backed Israel.
After a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he expressed hope that the exchange of air strikes and missile attacks would end soon.
“I expect and hope that everything will end in the near future, but Israel has the right to defend itself,” the White House leader said.
Meanwhile, what is happening on the ground could undermine any optimism about the imminent end of the most serious violence between Israel and the Palestinians since 2014.
Earlier, Netanyahu said his country would strike blows at the Hamas movement “they never dreamed of.” For his part, Benny Ganz, Israel’s defense minister, said the country was not preparing for a ceasefire and would only cease hostilities when “complete silence” was reached.
Hamas, for its part, called for a full-scale intifada, ie. uprising.
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