By NNN-KUNA,
Washington : The While House echoed on Saturday an earlier call for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza Strip, as President-elect Barack Obama “monitors the situation closely”.
“The President-elect Barack Obama was receiving daily briefings on the Middle East at his residence in Hawaii,” Chief NSA spokeswoman Brooke Anderson told reporters.
“President-elect Obama is closely monitoring global events, including the situation in Gaza, but there is one president at a time,” she added.
Meanwhile, The White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters in Crawford, Texas where President Bush is spending his vacation that the President was briefed on the developments in Gaza by the National Security Adviser Steven Hadley and spoke by phone to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Johndroe called for an “immediate ceasefire” between Hamas and Israel as he held the Islamic movement in control of Gaza responsible for the latest cycle of violence.
“Hamas must stop launching rocket attacks at Israel.” He said “The United States is concerned over the humanitarian situation in Gaza.”
Johndroe’s call for immediate ceasefire comes after a similar call from the Secretary of State and hours after an earlier statement by the White House ignored such a call.