Israeli airstrikes battered the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip early Wednesday and rocket barrages from the isolated enclave thudded into Israel as a frenzy of diplomacy sought to end the devastating conflict.
May 19, 2021
Biden’s decision to show “support for a cease-fire” in a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday signaled that the U.S. was looking for more public ways to stop the fighting. But his statement expressing support for a halt to the deadly warfare but not demanding one outright showed the limits of U.S. power and Biden’s wariness of applying too much public pressure on Israel.
The role of Hamas the Palestinian Authority rival that runs Gaza and is labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S., the European Union and others makes it impossible for the U.S. to bring the two sides together. And after four years of being shunned by former President Donald Trump, Palestinians are wary of any U.S. offers to play the role of middleman.
The Latest: France seeks UN Security Council resolution
People in Ashdod, Israel take shelter in the stairwell of their apartment building during a siren warning of rockets fired from Gaza to Israel on May 18, 2021.(AP Photo/Heidi Levine) May 18, 2021 - 4:48 PM
UNITED NATIONS Chinaâs U.N. ambassador says France is seeking a U.N. Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire between Israel and Palestinian militants who control Gaza.
Zhang Jun, the current council president, confirmed that Franceâs U.N. Ambassador Nicolas De Riviere informed the council during the third round of closed consultations Tuesday on the conflict that a resolution was being prepared.
Israel-Gaza: Hamas chiefs targeted as truce efforts stall
Published
image captionDamage from an Israeli air strike overnight in Gaza City
Israel says it has targeted the homes of Hamas commanders as deadly fighting with Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip enters a 10th day.
Israel said it had tried to kill Hamas military chief Mohammed Deif several times . Overnight, two militants died in a strike on an apartment.
Fresh barrages of rockets were also fired into Israel and sirens continued to sound on Wednesday morning.
Ceasefire moves continue behind the scenes but have made little headway.
The BBC s Yolande Knell in Jerusalem says reports began circulating that a truce - brokered by Egypt - could come into force within days. However, these were quickly denied.