Israel keeps fighting Hamas as mediators urge both to accept Biden's Gaza truce plan
Raw StorySince Biden spoke at the White House on Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted Israel will pursue the war, which now nears its ninth month, until it has destroyed Hamas and freed the captives. Political pressure According to Biden, Israel's three-stage offer would begin with a six-week phase that would see Israeli forces withdraw from all populated areas of the Gaza Strip and an initial hostage-prisoner exchange. Lapid, a centrist former premier, said that the government "cannot ignore Biden's important speech" and vowed to back Netanyahu if his far-right coalition partners quit. "The humanitarian space continues to shrink," UNRWA said, adding that about 1.7 million people were now sheltering in southern Gaza's main city of Khan Yunis and in central areas of the territory. In the besieged territory's north, Israeli helicopters fired at Gaza City's Zeitun and Sabra areas, and an air strike hit a house in the city's east, AFP reporters said.