WILMINGTON, Del.– President Joe Biden said Saturday that he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel” in the way 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 Netanyahu that “he must pay more attention to the innocent lives lost as a result of the actions taken.” Biden has been warning for months that Israel risks losing international support due to rising civilian casualties in Gaza, and the latest comments in an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart highlighted the increasingly strained relationship between the two leaders.
Biden said of the death toll in Gaza: “It goes against what Israel stands for. And I think it’s a big mistake.”
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 does not want weapons like the Iron Dome missile interceptors that protect Israeli civilians would cut off. population against 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 critical, so there is no red line. I’m going to cut off all weapons so they don’t have the Iron Dome to protect them.”
Biden said he was prepared to present his case directly to Israel’s Knesset, the parliament, including by making another trip to the country. He traveled to Israel weeks after the October 7 attack. He declined to elaborate on how or if such a trip could take place.
The US leader had hoped to broker a temporary ceasefire before Ramadan begins this week, although that looks increasingly unlikely as Hamas has opposed a deal pushed by the US and its allies that would have kept the fighting at around six weeks shutdown, the release of additional hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and a wave of humanitarian aid to Gaza. Biden noted that CIA Director Bill Burns is currently in the region trying to revive the deal.
