BIDEN SAYS THAT NETANYAHU IS MAKING A BIG MISTAKE ON GAZA AS HE CALLS FOR A CEASEFIRE

  US President Joe Biden says he believes Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making a "mistake" in his handling of the war in Gaza

1. In an interview, Biden urged Israel to agree to a six-to-eight week ceasefire in its war against Hamas to allow "total access" of food and medicine into the enclave.
   
   
   
2. International pressure is growing for a ceasefire to be agreed as talks continue in Cairo. The latest round has included the head of the CIA
3. Netanyahu says he has set a date for a military offensive in the southern city of Rafah, where about 1.5 million Palestinians are sheltering
4. Meanwhile Eid-al-Fitr, the end of Ramadan, has begun. One man sheltering in Rafah tells the BBC his family are marking the day "without the basic necessities of life"
5. The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, has reiterated warnings of possible famine, saying far too little aid is reaching Gaza
6. Philippe Lazzarini also warns of the threat of unexploded munitions as Palestinians return to the devastated city of Khan Younis after Israel withdrew its troops.

7. Biden pressure on Israel not enough, say dissenting US officials

   Tom Bateman

   BBC State Department correspondent, Washington DC

   

   ReutersCopyright: Reuters

   US President Joe Biden's pressure on Israel after last week's deadly attack on aid workers did not go far enough and will fail to stem the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, according to current and former US officials who have spoken to the BBC.

   They said internal dissent in government was growing and called for tougher action on arms transfers.

   Israel said it would open new aid routes after Biden threatened to reassess policy following Israeli strikes that killed seven workers from food charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), including a US-Canadian citizen.

   But the tougher line was "too little, too late", said Annelle Sheline, an official working in human rights who quit the state department in protest a fortnight ago.

   She said the White House "could have done this months ago and prevented famine in northern Gaza".

   The US-Israel relationship is currently experiencing its most serious strain in decades, after Biden's phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week that amounted to a defining moment in the six-month conflict.

8. THIS AND MORE UPDATES AT: Israel Gaza live updates: Biden says Netanyahu making 'mistake' on Gaza as he calls for ceasefire - BBC News