In Israel-Hamas Conflict, Washington Finds It Hard to Say ‘Cease- Fire’

When violence breaks out in international hot spots, the typical U.S. response has been an immediate, forceful call for a cease-fire, and a demand that the combatants settle differences through negotiations.

When it came to the current flare up between Israelis and Palestinians, President Biden took more than a week to make such a call.

Even then, the White House was more cautious than in the past. The president only went so far as to say he “supported” a cease-fire, a statement that the administration’s critics saw as weak, especially...