Biden says did not ask for ceasefire in Gaza during phone call with Netanyahu

“I had a long talk with Netanyahu today [Saturday] and it was a private conversation,” Biden told reporters on Saturday.

“I did not ask for a ceasefire,” he said, in response to a shouted question.

In a statement later, the White House announced Biden and Netanyahu discussed Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, including its “objectives and phasing”.

Biden “emphasised the critical need to protect the civilian population including those supporting the humanitarian aid operation, and the importance of allowing civilians to move safely away from areas of ongoing fighting”, added the statement.

“The leaders discussed the importance of securing the release of all remaining hostages.”

The call between the two leaders came a day after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed a resolution calling for the scaling up of aid for Gaza but fell short of calling for a ceasefire or a pause in weeks-long fighting.

The resolution, which demanded “immediate, safe and unhindered” deliveries of life-saving aid to Gaza “at scale”, was passed after UNSC members wrangled for days over its wording and toned down some provisions at Washington’s insistence.

The US and Russia abstained from the vote, whose impact on the ground, aid groups fear, will be close to nil.

“This resolution has been watered down to the point that its impact on the lives of civilians in Gaza will be nearly meaningless,” Avril Benoit, the executive director of Doctors Without Borders, said in a statement.

“The way Israel is prosecuting this war, with US support, is causing massive death and suffering among Palestinian civilians and is inconsistent with international norms and laws,” Benoit added.

The US also opposed the demand to create a UN monitoring mechanism for aid, assuring Israel would continue to have a role in inspecting deliveries.

Netanyahu on Saturday “expressed his appreciation” for the stance taken by the US at the UN, his office said. He also “made it clear that Israel will continue the war until all its goals are completed”.

Gaza’s Health Ministry reported the death toll since the start of the attacks rose to 20,258 on Saturday, most of them being women and children.

According to UN estimates, the war has displaced 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million population.

The UN has described the situation in Gaza as “beyond catastrophic”, with residents struggling to find food, fuel and water, while living in crowded shelters or tents.

Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, says the UN Security Council resolution for humanitarian relief will only result in a “drop in the ocean of suffering” in Gaza.

“There should not be hinderance to the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Israel should not have stopped the delivery of humanitarian assistance and create the conditions for making delivery impossible,” she told Al Jazeera.

“There is only one country to unlock what’s happening at the moment – the carnage, the mass-scale violations of international law. That country is the United States. People in the White House and the State Department, they hold the key to aid delivery and a ceasefire,” she added.