President Joe Biden has said he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel” in how he is approaching its 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 being lost as a consequence of the actions taken”.
Mr Biden has for months warned that Israel risks losing international support over mounting civilian casualties in Gaza, and the latest remarks in an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart on Saturday pointed to the increasingly strained relationship between the two leaders.
Mr Biden said of the death toll in Gaza, “It’s contrary to what Israel stands for. And I think it’s a big mistake.”
Mr Biden said a potential Israeli invasion of the Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1.3 million Palestinians are sheltering, is “a red line” for him, but said he would not cut off weapons like the Iron Dome missile interceptors which protect the Israeli civilian populace from rocket attacks in the region.
“It is a red line,” he said, when asked about Rafah, “but I’m never going to leave Israel. The defence of Israel is still critical, so there’s no red line I’m going to cut off all weapons so they don’t have the Iron Dome to protect them.”
Mr Biden said he was willing to make his case directly to the Israeli Knesset, its parliament, including by making another trip to the country. He travelled to Israel weeks after the October 7 attack. He declined to elaborate on how or whether such a trip might happen.
The president had hoped to secure a temporary ceasefire before Ramadan begins this week, though that appears increasingly unlikely as Hamas has balked at a deal pushed by the US and its allies.
That deal would have seen fighting pause for about six weeks, the release of additional hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel and a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Mr Biden noted CIA director Bill Burns was in the region trying to resurrect the deal.
The US Army Vessel General Frank S. Besson has left a base in Virgnia for the eastern Mediterranean to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza by sea.
Besson, a logistics support vessel, departed “less than 36 hours after President Biden announced the US would provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza by sea”, the US Central Command said in a statement early on Sunday.
It was “carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary pier to deliver vital humanitarian supplies”.
