White House officials are supporting a call by the International Committee of the Red Cross for daily ceasefires in Syria to allow food and medical aid to reach victims of the Syrian government's bloody crackdown.
Dozens of civilians were reported killed on Tuesday, when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces attacked cities and villages in the north of the country.

The Red Cross says families have been trapped for days without food, water or medical care, and it is calling for daily ceasefires by the government and rebel forces.

At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney said President Barack Obama's administration backs the Red Cross in urging the ceasefires.  

"The fact is, the reprehensible actions taken by the Assad regime - the brutal violence perpetrated by the Syrian leader against his own people - has led us to this situation where basic supplies, humanitarian supplies, are very scarce, and, therefore, action needs to be taken.  So we would certainly support the calls for those kinds of ceasefires," he said.

Carney said again that the United States is not planning to arm the Syrian rebels, but that the White House will consider all options.

"We still believe that a political solution is what is needed in Syria. We do not want to take actions that would contribute to the further militarization of Syria because that could take the country down a dangerous path," said Carney.