Joe Biden Calls for ‘Pause’ in Ongoing Conflict Between Israel and Hamas

President Joe Biden has called for a “pause” in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, during a campaign speech in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

The President’s statement came in response to a protester, Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg, who called for a cease-fire. Biden said that a pause would allow time to get prisoners out.

The President’s call for a pause is a subtle departure from the White House’s previous stance on the conflict, which has been to not dictate how the Israelis carry out their military operations in response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.

The conflict has been ongoing since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas, which killed about 1,400 people in Israel. Negotiations to free 239 hostages, including children and the elderly, have continued since then.

Human rights groups, fellow world leaders and even liberal members of Biden’s own Democratic Party have been intensifying pressure on the President to call for a cease-fire. Biden’s call for a pause is seen as a step in the right direction, but it is unclear if it will be enough to bring an end to the conflict.