Biden Says He Will Keep Pushing Gaza Ceasefire Efforts

 President Joe Biden speaks as other G20 leaders listen during the G20 Summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Eric Lee/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
President Joe Biden speaks as other G20 leaders listen during the G20 Summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Eric Lee/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
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Biden Says He Will Keep Pushing Gaza Ceasefire Efforts

 President Joe Biden speaks as other G20 leaders listen during the G20 Summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Eric Lee/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
President Joe Biden speaks as other G20 leaders listen during the G20 Summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (Eric Lee/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

President Joe Biden told fellow global leaders at a Group of 20 summit Monday that his soon-to-end administration would keep pushing to bring an equitable end to Israel’s devastating war against Hamas in Gaza.

Seated between leaders of France and India at a long oval table at the summit site in Rio de Janeiro, Biden cited US efforts on hunger and poverty in his soon-to-end four years in office, saying he had put $160 billion into global development.

With fewer than three months left in his term, Biden also said his administration would keep pressing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on its conduct of the war and the need to end it.

“Israel has a right to defend itself after the worse massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. But how it defends itself ... matters a great deal.”

“We’re going to keep pushing to accelerate a ceasefire deal that ensures Israel’s security and brings hostages home and ends the suffering of the Palestinian people and children,” he said.

Biden also said Hamas was still refusing a deal, adding, “I am asking everyone to increase the pressure on Hamas.”



Four Killed in Israeli Strike on Central Beirut Near Key Govt Buildings, Embassies

 Rescue workers search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP)
Rescue workers search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP)
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Four Killed in Israeli Strike on Central Beirut Near Key Govt Buildings, Embassies

 Rescue workers search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP)
Rescue workers search for victims at the site of an Israeli airstrike in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024. (AP)

At least four people were killed and 18 others were injured in an Israeli strike on central Beirut, the Lebanese caretaker health ministry said on Monday.

The strike late on Monday hit a densely populated residential area in Lebanon's capital close to the UN headquarters, Parliament, the prime minister’s office and several embassies.  

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said two missiles hit the area of Zoqaq al-Blat neighborhood of Beirut. The strike comes following reports that the US envoy has delayed his visit for ceasefire talks.  

Ambulance sirens echoed through the area and a reporter with The Associated Press at the scene described significant casualties on the street.  

The target of the airstrike remains unclear, and the Israeli army did not issue a prior warning.  

Many areas in central Beirut, including Zoqaq al-Blat, became a refuge for many displaced by the ongoing conflict in southern Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut. The strike also occurred near a Hussainiya, a Shiite mosque.

It was the second consecutive day of Israeli strikes on central Beirut after more than a month-long pause.  

On Sunday, a strike in the area of Ras al-Nabaa killed Hezbollah media spokesperson Mohammed Afif, along with six other people, including a woman.  

Later that day, four people were killed in a separate strike in the commercial district of Mar Elias. Reports said it targeted leader of Hezbollah’s southern operations Mahmoud Madi.  

Israeli media did not have immediate comment.