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” that Israel should not cross in the Gaza war, but insisted he would 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 also “leave Israel.” He said there was no such thing.
“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 been a staunch supporter of Israel in its campaign 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 limits 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.
Mr. Biden on Thursday announced plans to build a temporary port in Gaza that would allow aid to be sent by sea, even as Israel imposes severe restrictions on the movement of goods by land.
Mr. Biden expressed hope last month that Israel and Hamas could agree to a moratorium on fighting before Ramadan, but hopes of reaching an agreement by then are in doubt after mediators left Cairo last week without an agreement. It deflated.
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.
