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President Joe Biden rebuked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Saturday over the rising civilian death toll in the Gaza Strip, even as he reaffirmed American support for a longtime ally.
“He has a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to pursue Hamas, but he must, he must, he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken,” Biden said of Netanyahu in an interview with MSNBC.”In my view, he’s hurting Israel more than helping Israel,” Biden said, appearing to refer to Netanyahu’s military strategy. “It’s contrary to what Israel stands for, and I think it’s a big mistake. So I want to see a ceasefire.”
Asked if he had a “red line” Netanyahu should not cross, like a ground invasion of Rafah, Biden offered a muddled response but said “the defence of Israel is still critical.”
“He cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead as a consequence” of his pursuit of Hamas, Biden said. “There’s other ways to deal, to get to, to deal with the trauma caused by Hamas,” he added. Gazan health ministry has said over 31,000 people have been killed since Israel began the war in response to attacks by Hamas.
But Biden’s comments once again highlighted the delicate position the US has found itself in: arming Israel while at the same time providing humanitarian aid to Gaza. Biden has been more forceful in recent days about the plight of civilians in Gaza, urging Netanyahu not to go ahead with his stated plans to launch a major ground offensive in Rafah without a plan to protect the civilians sheltering there.
Biden also said he remained hopeful the US could help broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, with Ramzan approaching this week.
Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Biden’s comment on “hurting Israel”, saying in an interview with Politico, “If he meant that I’m pursuing private policies against the majority, the wish of the majority of Israelis, and that this is hurting the interests of Israel, then he’s wrong on both counts.”
“He has a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to pursue Hamas, but he must, he must, he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken,” Biden said of Netanyahu in an interview with MSNBC.”In my view, he’s hurting Israel more than helping Israel,” Biden said, appearing to refer to Netanyahu’s military strategy. “It’s contrary to what Israel stands for, and I think it’s a big mistake. So I want to see a ceasefire.”
Asked if he had a “red line” Netanyahu should not cross, like a ground invasion of Rafah, Biden offered a muddled response but said “the defence of Israel is still critical.”
“He cannot have 30,000 more Palestinians dead as a consequence” of his pursuit of Hamas, Biden said. “There’s other ways to deal, to get to, to deal with the trauma caused by Hamas,” he added. Gazan health ministry has said over 31,000 people have been killed since Israel began the war in response to attacks by Hamas.
But Biden’s comments once again highlighted the delicate position the US has found itself in: arming Israel while at the same time providing humanitarian aid to Gaza. Biden has been more forceful in recent days about the plight of civilians in Gaza, urging Netanyahu not to go ahead with his stated plans to launch a major ground offensive in Rafah without a plan to protect the civilians sheltering there.
Biden also said he remained hopeful the US could help broker a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, with Ramzan approaching this week.
Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu rejected Biden’s comment on “hurting Israel”, saying in an interview with Politico, “If he meant that I’m pursuing private policies against the majority, the wish of the majority of Israelis, and that this is hurting the interests of Israel, then he’s wrong on both counts.”
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