President Joe Biden said Wednesday that a "pause" was needed in the Israel-Hamas war to allow more time to get "prisoners" out.
“I think we need a pause,” Biden said in response to a question from a protester who interrupted him at a campaign reception in Minnesota. Asked to clarify what a pause meant, he said: “A pause means give time to get the prisoners out. Give time.”
Negotiations to free 239 hostages, including children and the elderly, have continued since Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack killed about 1,400 people in Israel. After Hamas breached Israel’s border wall, other groups from Gaza seized additional captives.
The protester, who identified herself as Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg, said she wanted Biden to call for a cease-fire.
“Mr. President, you care about Jewish people. As a rabbi, I need you to call for a cease-fire right now,” she said.
After the crowd tried to quiet her, she said, “I would love for you to answer my question," at which point Biden called for a pause.
He went on to say: "This is incredibly complicated for the Israelis. I can thoroughly understand the emotions on the Palestinian side of the argument and the Jewish side of the argument.”
A White House official later said Biden was not making a new policy announcement when he called for a pause in the fighting, but was emphasizing his belief that to aid in the release of additional hostages, a temporary ceasefire — or pause — would be necessary.
The official said Biden was referring to his urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to temporarily halt the assault in part of Gaza to allow two American-Israeli hostages, Natalie and Judith Raanan, to get out. The official said Netanyahu agreed to no Israeli airstrikes in that part of Gaza for that short period.
Biden said last week that the flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza needed to “increase” after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said “humanitarian pauses must be considered” so food, water, medicine and other essential humanitarian assistance can flow into Gaza.
NBC News reported at the time that according to a U.S. official, the White House supported a “pause” of indeterminate duration to allow more aid to reach Gaza and to enable those attempting passage out of the enclave to leave safely.
A former national security advisor for Israel, retired Major General Yaakov Amidror told NBC News on Thursday that a broader cease fire would be a “huge mistake” for Israel.
“An offensive has a momentum, and if you stop the momentum, to renew it is very costly and it gives the other side time to reorganize,” Amidror said in a telephone interview from Israel. A war offensive can still account for a narrow corridor to take people through and get hostages out of Gaza, he said.
People trapped in the Gaza Strip began evacuating through the Rafah border crossing Wednesday for the first time since Israel imposed its siege in the wake of the Hamas attacks.
The crossing was opened after Egypt, Hamas and Israel agreed to a deal allowing up to 500 people to cross daily. An initial group of U.S. citizens left Gaza through the crossing into Egypt, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.
More than 1 million people have been displaced in Gaza, and Palestinian health officials have said more than 8,700 people have been killed in the territory.