Biden Praises Netanyahu for Israeli-Palestinian Ceasefire, Says Administration ‘Will Continue Our Quiet, Relentless Diplomacy’

In brief remarks early Thursday evening, President Joe Biden said that after speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, Israel and Palestinian groups have agreed to a ceasefire that will take effect within two hours.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu informed me that Israel has agreed to a mutual unconditional ceasefire to begin in less than two hours,” Biden said. “The Egyptians have now informed us that Hamas and other groups in Gaza have also agreed.”

“In my conversation with Prime Minister Netanyahu, I commended him for the decision to bring the current hostilities to a close within less than 11 days,” Biden continued. “I also emphasized what I have said through this conflict: the United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against indiscriminate rocket attacks from Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorist groups that have taken the lives of innocent civilians in Israel.”

“The Prime Minister also shared with me his appreciation for the Iron Dome system, which our nations developed together and has saved lives of countless Israeli citizens, both Arab and Jew,” Biden also said, adding that he assured Netanyahu of his “full support” in replenishing Israel’s military defense system.

Biden also thanked President al-Sisi of Egypt and other officials who he said played “such a critical role” in getting to the ceasefire, and said he appreciates the “contributions of other parties in the region who have been engaged in working toward the end of hostilities.”

In 10 days of intense fighting, at least 230 people in Gaza – at least 63 of them children – have been killed by around 1,000 Israeli military strikes, which also damaged much of Gaza’s infrastructure. Groups in Gaza, including Hamas, have fired more than 4,000 rockets at Israel, killing 12 people, mostly civilians.

“I believe the Palestinians and Israelis equally deserve to live safely and securely and enjoy equal measures of freedom, prosperity, and democracy,” Biden later said. “My administration will continue our quiet, relentless diplomacy toward that end.”

Biden did not take questions.

Watch above, via CNN.