WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Feb. 12 the United States is seeking a six-week pause in the fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip as a step toward a more permanent cessation of hostilities. As Lent began Feb. 14, some Catholics gathered in front of the White House to pray for such a cease-fire as Israel readies a new offensive and Palestinian civilian casualties have soared.
Hamas attacked Israel Oct. 7, carrying out the largest mass murder of Jews since the Holocaust and provoking Israel to declare war the following day. About 1,200 people were killed in the surprise attack by Hamas, officially designated a terrorist entity by the U.S. government, with militants engaging in sexual violence and taking hostages before retreating to Gaza.
As Israel’s military response reaches its fifth month, the death toll of Palestinians killed during the war in Gaza has surpassed 28,000 people, most of them women and children, according to Gaza’s health officials. More than 1 percent of Gaza’s pre-war 2.3 million population is now dead, with 70 percent of homes reported damaged or destroyed. Nearly 1.4 million Palestinians taking refuge in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah are now squarely in the line of fire for Israel’s next ground offensive against Hamas.
Some Christian and Catholic groups launched on Feb. 14, Ash Wednesday, a “Lenten Ceasefire Campaign,” which began with a Catholic Mass followed by an ecumenical public witness in Lafayette Square opposite the White House. The groups involved said they aimed “to call attention to and in mourning for the tens of thousands of lives that have been destroyed in Gaza and Israel” since Oct. 7.
In Feb. 12 remarks after a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan, Biden said he was pursuing a pause in fighting, while also emphasizing the necessity of releasing the remaining hostages held by Hamas.
“The anguish that their families are enduring week after week, month after month, is unimaginable,” Biden said. “And it’s a top priority for the United States to bring them home.”
Biden has offered his staunch support to Israel in the wake of the attack, including traveling there in the aftermath.
“I’ve made clear the United States shares the goal of seeing Hamas defeated and ensuring long-term security for Israel and its people,” Biden said.
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