White House: A ceasefire right now will only benefit Hamas

The White House said last night that “a ceasefire right now really only benefits Hamas.”

It added during a press briefing: “I don’t have a lot of progress on either front to speak to today.  Unfortunately, there — there were no more trucks that got in.  And we haven’t, again, secured passage for folks out, but we’re obviously working that very, very hard, as well as the hostage piece. So, not a lot to update you on there.”

On Monday, John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, said that the US does not believe it is the appropriate time for a ceasefire. Israel has the right to defend itself and it still has work to do to pursue the Hamas leadership, he explained.

These statements come at a time when the Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip continues, in its 18th consecutive day, leaving more than 5,000 martyred and about 17,000 wounded, the majority of whom are children and women, as the occupation commits hundreds of crimes against families in their homes.

Some 12,000 tonnes of bombs have been dropped on Gaza, the equivalent of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

READ: Biden sets condition for Gaza ceasefire