WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – Israel passed legislation Monday that could stop a key United Nations agency from distributing aid in Gaza.
This comes as ceasefire negotiations are picking back up between Israel and Hamas.
“We need a ceasefire,” President Joe Biden said. “We should end this war. It should end, it should end, it should end.”
A new ceasefire proposal would stop fighting for two days in exchange for several hostages still held by Hamas, but the U.S. State Department said negotiations continue.
“To see if there’s a way to break the logjam that we’ve been at,” said State Spokesperson Matthew Miller.
Israel also launched an attack against Iran over the weekend in response to Iran’s missile attack against Israel earlier this month.
“We do think it was a proportionate response that should not lead to further escalation by Iran,” Miller said. “And we certainly hope that Iran will not further escalate the conflict.”
While the State Department and Pentagon said this should be the end of the matter, the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting Monday on the situation in the Middle East.
“We hope that the day will come that we will be able to walk together with the Iranian people like we used to do in the past,” said Danny Danon, Israel’s ambassador to the UN.
However, Danon said if Iran continues to attack his country, Israel will continue to fight back.
“Any further aggression will be met with consequences that are swift, painful and decisive,” he said.
Iran requested the emergency meeting with support from China, Russia and Algeria.
