Indonesia's Widodo urges Biden to 'do more' to end Gaza 'atrocities'

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo appealed to US President Joe Biden on Monday to "do more" to end the "atrocities" in the besieged Gaza Strip as the leaders met in the US capital.

"I appeal to the US to do more to stop the atrocities in Gaza and have a ceasefire, for the sake of humanity," Widodo said during brief remarks in the Oval Office ahead of closed-door discussions with Biden.

For his part, the US president said he was "looking forward to our conversation today, and our continued cooperation with" the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Biden has been facing growing criticism after voicing unwavering support for Israel's campaign, which it is conducting in response to a shocking Oct. 7 cross-border attack by Hamas in which over 1,200 people were killed and hundreds more taken back to Gaza as hostages.

Israel on Friday revised down its earlier estimate of over 1,400 killed during last month's attack.

Biden's fellow Democrats have increasingly been joining calls from the international community to implement a ceasefire to halt the ongoing violence in Gaza, but the president has so far rejected any support for the initiative.

The war has exacerbated already poor humanitarian conditions in Gaza, with basic necessities such as food, water, and fuel increasingly depleted amid an Israeli siege that has severely restricted deliveries of badly needed international aid to the coastal enclave.

At least 11,180 Palestinians have been killed, including over 7,700 children and women, and more than 28,200 others have been injured, according to the latest figures from Palestinian authorities in Gaza.