Joe Biden
“It's a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. I am working on a deal to end the fighting and build a lasting and durable peace. Leadership is about fighting through the most intractable problem. It's about channeling anger, frustration and heartbreak to find a solution. It's about doing what you believe is right, even when it's hard and lonely.”
12 hours ago
Sylvain Ekenge
“An attempted coup d'etat has been put down by the defence and security forces. The attempt involved foreigners and Congolese. These foreigners and Congolese have been put out of action, including their leader.”
14 hours ago
Martin Griffiths
“When very, very experienced humanitarian aid workers, who have been in all kinds of places around the world for decades, when they go to Gaza - to help, to serve, to work - it is traumatising for them. So, God help what it must be for the people of Gaza. It is really difficult and it's getting worse daily. We meet with Israelis daily through COGAT, the committee set up for this purpose. We have many detailed discussions with them about security, about the movement of our trucks and convoys, about the priorities for fuel, but the fact of the matter is, we are not in a position to provide proper aid to the people of Gaza. Right now, it's not ever been quite as difficult as it is today. Much more can be done and ideally, obviously and hopefully this [Israeli military] operation needs to stop.”
15 hours ago
Joe Biden
“It's a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. I am working on a deal to end the fighting and build a lasting and durable peace. Leadership is about fighting through the most intractable problem. It's about channeling anger, frustration and heartbreak to find a solution. It's about doing what you believe is right, even when it's hard and lonely.”
12 hours ago
Sylvain Ekenge
“An attempted coup d'etat has been put down by the defence and security forces. The attempt involved foreigners and Congolese. These foreigners and Congolese have been put out of action, including their leader.”
14 hours ago
Martin Griffiths
“When very, very experienced humanitarian aid workers, who have been in all kinds of places around the world for decades, when they go to Gaza - to help, to serve, to work - it is traumatising for them. So, God help what it must be for the people of Gaza. It is really difficult and it's getting worse daily. We meet with Israelis daily through COGAT, the committee set up for this purpose. We have many detailed discussions with them about security, about the movement of our trucks and convoys, about the priorities for fuel, but the fact of the matter is, we are not in a position to provide proper aid to the people of Gaza. Right now, it's not ever been quite as difficult as it is today. Much more can be done and ideally, obviously and hopefully this [Israeli military] operation needs to stop.”
15 hours ago
“No amount of pressure … will stop Israel from defending itself and achieving its war objectives. Eighty years ago in the Holocaust, the Jewish people were totally defenceless against those who sought our destruction. No nation came to our aid. I pledge here today from Jerusalem on this Holocaust Remembrance Day: If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone. But we know we are not alone because countless decent people around the world support our just cause.”
“But while Israel has shown willingness, Hamas remains entrenched in its extreme positions, first among them the demand to remove all our forces from the Gaza Strip, end the war, and leave Hamas in power. Israel cannot accept that.”
“The idea that we will stop the war before achieving all its objectives is out of the question. We will enter Rafah and we will eliminate the Hamas battalions there - with or without a deal, in order to achieve the total victory.”
“Calls for elections now during the war, a moment before victory, will paralyze Israel for at least six months; in my estimate, for eight months. They will paralyze the negotiations for the release of our hostages and in the end will lead to ending the war before achieving its goals, and the first to commend this will be Hamas, and that says it all.”
“I thought the US decision in the Security Council was a very, very bad move. The worst part about it was that it encouraged Hamas to take a hard line and to believe that international pressure will prevent Israel from freeing the hostages and destroying Hamas. It [the cancellation of a planned visit to Washington by Israeli top aides] was a message first and foremost to Hamas: 'Don't bet on this pressure, it's not going to work'. I hope they got the message.”
“I told him [Antony Blinken] that I hope we will do it with the support of the US, but if we have to - we will do it alone [sending troops into the southern Gaza city of Rafah].”
“There is international pressure and it's growing, but particularly when the international pressure rises, we must close ranks, we need to stand together against the attempts to stop the war. The military would operate against Hamas all through the Gaza Strip including Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold. Whoever tells us not to act in Rafah is telling us to lose the war and that will not happen.”
“We shall not bow down to international dictates in regards to a future deal with the Palestinians. Such a compromise should be through direct negotiations with no preconditions. How can we give recognition to such a state after the massacre of October 7. This would be a reward for terrorism.”
“A peace deal between Israel and Hamas will only be reached through direct negotiations between the parties. Israel outright rejects international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians. Israel will continue to oppose the unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state. Such recognition in the wake of the October 7 massacre would give a huge reward to unprecedented terrorism and prevent any future peace settlement.”
“Fernando [Fernando Simon Marman] and Louis [Louis Hare], welcome home. Only continued military pressure, until total victory, will bring about the release of all of our hostages.”
“We're going to do it while providing safe passage for the civilian population so they can leave. Those who say that under no circumstances should we enter Rafah, are basically saying 'lose the war, keep Hamas there'.”
“Yesterday we experienced one of our most difficult days since the war erupted. In the name of our heroes, for the sake of our lives, we will not stop fighting until absolute victory.”
“This is a difficult morning, after a very difficult day of fighting in Gaza. The war is exacting a very heavy cost from us; however we have no choice (but) to continue to fight.”
“There is no way we are not going back to fighting until the end. This is my policy, the entire cabinet stands behind it, the entire government stands behind it, the soldiers stand behind it, the people stand behind it - this is exactly what we will do.”
“I think Israel will, for an indefinite period, will have the overall security responsibility because we've seen what happens when we don't have that security responsibility.”