President Joe Biden said Saturday that he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel” in how he is approaching his war against Hamas in Gaza.
The US leader expressed support for Israel’s right to pursue Hamas after the October 7 attack, but said of Mr Netanyahu that “he must pay more attention to the innocent lives lost as a result.” actions taken”.
Mr. Biden has warned for months that Israel risks losing international support due to rising civilian casualties in Gaza, and the latest remarks in an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart underscored relations increasingly tense between the two leaders.
Joe Biden said of the death toll in Gaza: “It is contrary to what Israel stands for. And I think that’s a big mistake. »
President Biden argued that a possible Israeli invasion of the Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1.3 million Palestinians are sheltering, is “a red line” for him, but counterbalanced by saying he would not would not remove weapons like the Iron Dome missile interceptors that protect Israeli civilians from rocket attacks in the region.
“It’s a red line,” he said, when asked about Rafah, “but I will never leave Israel. Israel’s defense is still crucial, so there is no red line that would make me cut off all weapons so they don’t have Iron Dome to protect them. »
Mr. Biden assured that he was ready to make his arguments directly to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in particular by making another trip to the country. He visited Israel a few weeks after the October 7 attack. He declined to elaborate on how or if such a trip could come to fruition.
The US leader had hoped to secure a temporary ceasefire before the start of Ramadan this week, although that appears increasingly unlikely given that Hamas has balked at a deal pushed by the US and its allies that would have led to a pause in fighting for about six weeks, additional releases of hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Joe Biden noted that CIA Director Bill Burns is currently in the region trying to resurrect the deal.