First Thing: pause after call for de-escalation raises hopes of Israel-Gaza ceasefire Miranda Bryant
Good morning.
Israel and Palestinian militants stopped firing for several hours early this morning after Joe Biden called for “a significant de-escalation”.
The eight-hour pause in attacks – the longest since the start of the conflict 11 days ago – came as efforts to secure a ceasefire appeared to gain momentum. But the attacks later restarted when air-raid sirens sounded in Israel near Gaza and Israel’s military said a fighter jet had hit a rocket launcher.
France, which has circulated a UN resolution, has put pressure on the US to demand a truce and issued a joint statement with Egypt and Jordan calling for an immediate ceasefire. In a phone call on Wednesday, the US president told the Israeli prime minister that he expected “a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire”.