'This war should end,' Biden says as Gaza death toll passes 43,000

WASHINGTON

US President Joe Biden said Monday that Israel's war on the besieged Gaza Strip "should end" as the Palestinian death toll in the coastal enclave has topped 43,000.

"We need a cease-fire. This war should end," the president said in brief remarks before reporters after he cast his early ballot in the 2024 presidential race in his home state of Delaware.

He said he would hold a call to "follow up" on cease-fire efforts after leaving the polling station in the city of New Castle.

Health authorities in Gaza said Monday that the confirmed death toll in the coastal enclave has surpassed 43,000 while over 101,000 others have been injured. The majority of the dead are women and children.

Israel's war on Gaza has displaced nearly the entire civilian population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Mediation efforts led by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to reach a cease-fire and prisoner swap agreement between Israel and Hamas have failed over Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to halt the war.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the Palestinian enclave.