US expects 'significant de-escalation today,' Biden tells Netanyahu

As President Joe Biden appealed for calm, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday there was no timeframe for ending the conflict with Hamas.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he shows a slideshow during a briefing to ambassadors to Israel at the Hakirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel on May 19, 2021. Netanyahu said today that Israel's aerial bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip was aimed at deterring Hamas, but he did not rule out conquering the enclave's Islamist rulers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he shows a slideshow during a briefing to ambassadors to Israel at the Hakirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel on May 19, 2021. Netanyahu said today that Israel's aerial bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip was aimed at deterring Hamas, but he did not rule out conquering the enclave's Islamist rulers. - SEBASTIAN SCHEINER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Al Monitor: The Pulse of the Middle East
Al-Monitor Staff

President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he expected “significant de-escalation" on Wednesday — the same day the Israeli leader told diplomats there was “no timeframe” for ending the fighting with Hamas.

The grueling conflict between Israel and Hamas entered its 10th day despite mounting international calls for a cease-fire. Israeli warplanes are pummeling the Palestinian enclave with airstrikes, and rockets launched by the Gazan militants continue to rain down on southern Israel.

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