Israel has rejected US calls for a temporary cease-fire until Hamas frees all 240 or so hostages it kidnapped in its brutal attack on Israeli civilians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is resisting U.S. calls for a "humanitarian pause" in its fight against Hamas in Gaza, insisting that there would be no temporary cease-fire until the 240 or so hostages held by the terror group are freed. In the last several days, both President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken have called for a temporary pause in...

The Soul of New Jersey: At the Blueprint Cafe in Newark, Democratic Senator Cory Booker and Alexander Heffner, host of PBS’s The Open Mind, toss the football around and sit down for a meal of vegan chicken and waffles. Booker discusses the importance of repairing relationships at the individual and neighborhood level as a key to addressing the nation's broader divisions. He also explains the critical importance of one of his biggest issues, making healthy food available to all Americans. Breaking Bread is a series aimed at finding common ground...

President Biden is citing progress in achieving a humanitarian pause in Gaza. After attending Catholic Mass in Rehoboth Beach, Del., Biden was asked if he was making progress on a humanitarian pause. The president said, “Yes,” and offered a thumbs-up. Biden was briefed earlier in the afternoon on the situation in Israel and Gaza by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has been traveling in the Middle East, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan and some of his senior advisers. Biden is spending the weekend at his vacation home...

A junior State Department employee who is organizing a dissent cable on the White House's policy on Israel has used social media to publicly accuse President Biden of being "complicit in genocide" toward the people of Gaza. Why it matters: The dissent cable — and the organizer's passionate rhetoric on social media — are the latest signs of how the Israel-Hamas war is causing anxiety throughout the U.S. government. • That includes the State Department, where Secretary of State Antony Blinken is a key player in carrying out Biden's strategy...

A growing number of officials from the U.S. Agency for International Development are supporting a letter urging President Biden to push for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, in the latest sign of upheaval within the federal government over the president’s strong backing of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza. Sign up for Fact Checker, our weekly review of what's true, false or in-between in politics. Employees at the agency said they were “alarmed and disheartened at the numerous violations of international law; laws which aim to protect civilians, medical...

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) accused President Biden of supporting the genocide of Palestinians amid Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza, saying that Americans will remember his actions when he’s up for reelection in 2024. Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in the House, posted a video on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday seemingly to pressure Biden to support a cease-fire in the conflict. In the video, which begins with apparent footage of bombings and bloody scenes from the conflict, Tlaib says, “Mr. President, the American people are not with you on...

Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan accused President Joe Biden of supporting "the genocide of the Palestinian people," in a video posted Friday. The roughly one and half minute video posted to X, features footage from protests in Tlaib's home state of Michigan, as well as California, New York and battleground states like Pennsylvania and Ohio where people held Palestinian flags and chanted phrases like "Free Palestine!" “Mr. President the American people are not with you on this one,” Tlaib says. The video closes with Tlaib saying, "We will remember...

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, who traveled to Israel on Friday as the ground war against Hamas in Gaza escalated, urged protections for Palestinian noncombatants and “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting, even as he spoke of “solidarity” with Israel’s right to defend itself. Soon after meeting with Mr. Blinken, however, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel appeared to rebuff the Biden administration’s call for pauses in the military campaign to allow more deliveries into Gaza of badly needed food, water, medicine and other supplies. Mr. Netanyahu said that any...

The White House is pushing for multiple pauses in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza so that aid can be let in, and people can be allowed to safely leave the region. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said at meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Friday that discussions about such pauses could facilitate getting hostages released. Israel on Friday put the latest number of hostages held by Hamas at 241. But Netanyahu said he would not agree to a ceasefire without the release of hostages. HEZBOLLAH LEADER PRAISES...