by President Biden sharply escalated his criticism of Israel’s approach to the war against Hamas on Thursday, calling military operations in Gaza “overblown” and saying the suffering of innocent people “has to end.”
Biden, who has strongly supported Israel’s right to retaliate for the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack that killed about 1,200 people, showed growing impatience with the scale and duration of Israel’s response during a late-night meeting with journalists in the White House.
“I am of the opinion, as you know, that the conduct of the response in Gaza, in the Gaza Strip, has been overblown,” Biden said in response to questions at the end of the raucous session, which was meant to address a special prosecutor’s report on his handling of classified documents. “I have been pushing very, very hard to bring humanitarian assistance to Gaza,” she added. “There are many innocent people who are hungry. There are many innocent people who are in trouble and dying. And this has to stop.”
But even as he offered a sharp assessment of the latest developments in the Middle East, he made the kind of mistake his staff hoped he would avoid, given questions about his age and memory, by confusing the presidents of Egypt and Mexico.
“I think, as you know, initially Mexican President Sisi did not want to open the door to allow humanitarian material in,” he said, referring to Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the president of Egypt. not Mexico. “I talked to him. I convinced him to open the door. I talked to Bibi to open the door on the Israeli side.”
Biden’s comments revealed his growing frustration with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, known by his nickname Bibi, by making public what has been clear privately for weeks. Biden has pressed the Israeli leader to take more care to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza, where more than 27,000 people have died, according to health authorities in the Hamas-ruled strip, and to consider creating a Palestinian state once end the war. it’s over.
Biden has come under enormous pressure from the progressive wing of his own party to rein in Netanyahu, and protesters now regularly disrupt the president’s events and call him names like “Genocide Joe.” At the same time, Netanyahu, criticized for failing to prevent the Oct. 7 attack, has sought to maintain his right-wing coalition by opposing Biden’s pleas for a so-called two-state solution.
In recent days, Netanyahu appeared to reject Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken’s efforts to broker a deal through intermediaries with Hamas to secure the release of more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas in exchange for an extended pause. in combat. Hamas had made “ridiculous demands” that, if met, “would only invite another massacre,” Netanyahu said Wednesday shortly after meeting Blinken.
In the four months since the Hamas attack, Biden has tried to walk a careful line, emphasizing his staunch support for Israel and his shared outrage over the killings of innocent Israelis, while increasingly advising Netanyahu of restraint. At one point, he complained about “indiscriminate” bombing by Israel, but has generally moderated his views in public, sometimes letting other members of his administration speak more critically.
The president had no intention of addressing the situation Thursday night and was leaving the White House Diplomatic Reception Room after his statement on the special counsel’s report when a reporter’s question prompted him to return to the lectern.
He cited his efforts to bring more humanitarian aid to Gaza, where much of the population has been displaced and desperate for basic goods.
“I’m pushing hard now to address this hostage ceasefire,” he said. “I have been working tirelessly on this agreement,” he added, because it could “lead to a sustained pause in the fighting and actions taking place in the Gaza Strip. Because I think if we can get the delay for that, the initial delay, I think we could extend it so that we can increase the prospect of this fighting in Gaza changing.”
He also said he believed Hamas may have staged its Oct. 7 attack to disrupt U.S. efforts to establish normal diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a project that many believe would have transformed the region but could have undermined the urgency of the cause. Palestine. .
“I have no evidence for what I’m about to say,” Biden said, “but it’s not unreasonable to suspect that Hamas understood what was about to happen and wanted to dismantle it before it happened.”
Victoria Kim contributed reporting from Seoul.
