The US president said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “hurting Israel” rather than supporting the war response.
US President Joe Biden has warned that there are “red lines” Israel must not cross in the Gaza war, but insisted it will never abandon America's allies.
In a contradictory and confusing interview with MSNBC that aired on Saturday, Biden said that Israel's invasion of the city of Rafah would be a “red line” for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but that he would not “leave Israel” at the same time. He said never.
“There are no red lines that must be crossed because the defense of Israel remains important.” [where] Referring to Israel's missile defense system, Biden said he intends to cut off all weapons so they don't have Iron Dome to protect them.
“But there's a line you can't cross, once you cross…” Biden said without finishing his train of thought, adding that his administration “cannot let another 30,000 Palestinians die.” Ta.
In his sharpest criticism yet of an Israeli leader, Biden said Prime Minister Netanyahu was “doing more to hurt Israel than helping it” and called for “more attention to the innocent lives that are being lost” in Gaza. should be paid,'' he said.
Mr. Biden has firmly supported Israel in its efforts to annihilate Hamas, but his administration has been at odds with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the scale of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip and restrictions on humanitarian aid to the enclave. .
The Biden administration has repeatedly urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to launch a planned attack on Rafah until Israel can secure the safe evacuation of the approximately 1.3 million Palestinians sheltering in the city.
Biden on Thursday announced plans to build a temporary port in Gaza to allow aid to be sent by sea, even as Israel imposes severe restrictions on goods shipments by land.
Mr. Biden last month expressed hope that Israel and Hamas could agree on a temporary halt to fighting before Ramadan, but mediators left Cairo last week without reaching an agreement, meaning an agreement could be reached by then. Those hopes were shattered.
Biden said in an interview on Saturday that a deal was “possible at any time” and that CIA Director Bill Burns was also on the lookout for talks the day before with his counterpart in the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, Director David Balnea. He said he was staying in the area.
Mossad said on Saturday that talks on a ceasefire were “constant”, despite waning hopes for a breakthrough.
Israel's war in Gaza has killed more than 30,800 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to the enclave's health authorities.
Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel killed 1,139 people, according to Israeli authorities.
