Biden advocates Gaza ceasefire in Eid message

In his Eid al-Adha message to Muslims, President Joe Biden advocated for a U.S.-supported ceasefire in Gaza, stating that it is the best way to alleviate the suffering of civilians caught in the conflict between Hamas and Israel.

“Too many innocent people have been killed, including thousands of children. Families have fled their homes and seen their communities destroyed. Their pain is immense,” Biden said in his statement.

He emphasized that he firmly believes the three-phase ceasefire proposal put forth by Israel and endorsed by the UN Security Council is the most effective way to end the violence in Gaza and ultimately resolve the war.

The United States has been urging both Israel and Hamas to formally accept the ceasefire agreement approved by the Security Council, which includes an initial six-week pause in hostilities.

Eid al-Adha, which commemorates the prophet Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice his son for God, saw a rare day of relative calm in Gaza after Israel declared a “tactical pause” in fighting near Rafah to allow for aid deliveries.

Biden also highlighted American efforts to support the rights of other persecuted Muslim communities, such as the Rohingya in Myanmar and the Uyghurs in China.

He mentioned U.S. efforts to help bring peace to the conflict in Sudan, which has been experiencing intense fighting between the national army and a rival paramilitary group since April 2023.

On the domestic front, Biden addressed the issue of Islamophobia in the United States, making a direct appeal to American Muslims, a crucial voting demographic for his reelection campaign against Republican rival Donald Trump.

“My Administration is creating a national strategy to counter Islamophobia and related forms of bias and discrimination, which affect not only Muslims, but also Arab, Sikh, and South Asian Americans,” Biden said.