(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden is pushing for cease-fires in Gaza and Lebanon ahead of the end of his presidency.
Biden met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House on Tuesday, which included a gift from Herzog to Biden from the foot of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
The meeting came as Israel faced a deadline put in place by Biden to significantly increase the amount of aid reaching Gaza’s civilian population or face restrictions on American military support.
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White House spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters later Tuesday that despite limited progress, the U.S. would not be punishing Israel yet.
“We at this time have not made an assessment that the Israelis are in violation of U.S. law,” Patel said via The Associated Press.
“We are not giving Israel a pass. We want to see the totality of the humanitarian situation improve, and we think some of these steps will allow the conditions for that to continue to progress,” he added.
