The White House reported on Wednesday that President Joe Biden had signed a memorandum shielding several thousand Palestinians in the United States who need protection from deportation for the next 18 months, citing deteriorating humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip.
According to a Biden administration official, the move grants "deferred enforced departure" to an estimated 6,000 Palestinians.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan released a statement and said that following the horrific October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel and Israel's ensuing military response, humanitarian conditions in Gaza have significantly deteriorated.
Sullivan claimed that Biden's move would allow Palestinians in the US "a temporary safe haven." He added that anyone who willingly returns to the Palestinian authorities would lose their protection.
Biden is under pressure to take greater action to protect Palestinians in Gaza and get aid into the besieged enclave that is under heavy bombardment from the Israeli military following more than four months of fighting.
Arab Americans, Muslims, and general public members in several communities have also criticized him for not advocating for a permanent ceasefire while still providing financial and military assistance to Israel.
Abed Ayoub, executive director of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, said in a statement that there is a desperate need for policies protecting Palestinians in the US. He claimed that they see that Palestine is not improving, so they are glad to see it implemented.
The Gaza health officials reported that at least 28,500 Palestinians were killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. According to Israeli tallies, 1,200 people had been killed, and 250 hostages were taken when Hamas militants broke out of Gaza into southern Israel.
Israel Prepares Ground Offensive in Gaza's Rafah
On Wednesday, negotiations involving several countries and high-level delegations began discussing a Gaza ceasefire deal in Egypt. On the second day of the talks, the mediators find it difficult to proceed in the face of an Israeli onslaught on Rafah, the remaining area of relatively safe territory in the southern part of the Palestinian territory near the Egyptian border.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to continue his military offensive in Rafah, where at least a million Palestinians evacuated other regions of Gaza as the Israeli ground assault and shelling moved from north to south.
Furthermore, international leaders have expressed concern at Netanyahu's approach as he did not clarify whether the stranded civilians would be allowed to go or what measures, if any, would be taken to protect them.
In a phone conversation with Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron declared that the number of deaths in Gaza was "intolerable" and that the Israeli offensive "must cease." UN relief operations chief Martin Griffiths issued a warning that an offensive "could lead to a slaughter in Gaza."
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