15:40
As reports emerge of a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian fighters in Gaza, the longtime foes are poised to turn their attention away from military action and on to constructing competing narratives of victory.
Already, the groundwork is being laid. Unnamed Israeli defence officials are being quoted in local media as saying they are satisfied with the damage inflicted. And a militant source in Gaza said: “For us, the battle achieved its goals.”
In big picture terms, nothing has changed. Hamas remains in charge inside the Gaza Strip, over which Israel continues to maintain a blockade. At least 230 Palestinians have been killed, including 65 children, and 12 people in Israel, including two children.
The Israeli military says the 11 days of intense airstrikes have killed scores of fighters and destroyed weapons and rocket stores. In what is being promoted as its crowning achievement, Israel says its airstrikes have obliterated a miles-long underground network of Gaza tunnels dubbed the “Metro”.
Not everyone in Israel is impressed. “While it is true that the targets that have been attacked in the past few days have been damaging to Hamas, at the end of the day that has merely been more of the same,” wrote commentator Yossi Yehoshua in the Israeli daily, Yedioth Ahronoth.
14:52
Biden signs anti-Asian hate crimes bill: ‘We cannot be complicit. We have to speak out’
Joe Biden has now signed the anti-Asian hate crimes bill at the White House, two days after the House passed the legislation.
Echoing Kamala Harris, the president thanked the lawmakers of both parties who came together to pass the bill, which will establish a point person at the justice department to expedite the review of coronavirus-related hate crimes against Asian Americans.
The president expressed sympathy for the Asian Americans who are living in fear because of the recent surge in hate incidents against members of their community. He described such prejudice as “simply un-American”.
“We need to unite as one people, one nation, one America,” Biden said before signing the bill. “We must unite the country.”
He added, “I mean this from the bottom of my heart: hate can be given no safe harbor in America.”
Biden specifically urged Americans to speak out against hate in their communities. “Silence is complicity. And we cannot be complicit. We have to speak out. We have to act,” the president said. “Every time we’re silent, every time we let hate flourish, we make a lie of who we are as a nation.”
Updated
13:51
More from the AP regarding the violence in Gaza:
The White House says that reports of a move toward a cease-fire between Israel and the militant Hamas group that rules the Gaza Strip are “clearly encouraging” but cautioned that a truce has yet to be agreed on.
Press secretary Jen Psaki said on Thursday that the White House believes the Israelis have “achieved significant military objectives” in their strikes against Hamas targets, which is why President Joe Biden expects them to start “winding down” their operation there.
Psaki says the Biden administration has conveyed that to the Israeli side “and that is what we expect to happen.”
Psaki added that Biden’s comments to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling for de-escalation, were “a reflection of what we’re seeing on the ground.”
She said the United States’ “strategic approach here is to communicate directly, stay closely interlocked with the Israelis, with partners on the ground, to do everything we can to bring an end to the conflict.”
She also said the US has “held more than 80 engagements with senior leaders in Israel, the Palestinian Authority and across the region.”
Updated
