The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed that officials have agreed on a ceasefire with Hamas after 11 days of fighting.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on May 20 that reports about a possible ceasefire were “encouraging.” The United States is trying “to do everything we can to bring an end to the conflict.”
![Israel's Iron Dome aerial defense system is activated to intercept a rocket launched from the Gaza Strip, controlled by the Palestinian Hamas movement, above the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, on May 12, 2021. (Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images/TNS)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F05%2F20%2Fhanson-israel-20210520_web-1200x750.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
Biden, during his May 19 call with Netanyahu, said Israel should engage in a “significant de-escalation today on the path to a cease-fire.” Netanyahu pushed back and told media outlets that he was instead “determined to continue this operation until its aim is met.”
During the conflict, Hamas fired thousands of rockets into Israeli civilian areas beginning on May 10. Israel responded with hundreds of airstrikes and several ground strikes.
At least 230 Palestinians have been killed and 1,710 people were wounded, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, although it doesn’t separate the numbers into civilians and fighters. Hamas and fellow terror group Islamic Jihad stated that at least 20 of their members were killed, while Israeli officials have placed that number as being much higher.
Twelve people in Israel, including a 5-year-old boy, a 16-year-old girl, and a soldier, have been killed. The military said an anti-tank missile fired from Gaza hit an empty bus near the frontier on May 20, lightly wounding an Israeli soldier.