Amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, US President Joe Biden has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, stating that he is “hurting more than helping” Israel by failing to limit casualties, as reported by CNN.
During an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart on Saturday, Biden said, “What’s happening is he has a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to pursue Hamas. But he must, he must, he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken.”
“He’s hurting – I – in my view, he’s hurting Israel more than helping Israel by making the rest of the world – it’s contrary to what Israel stands for. And I think it’s a big mistake,” Biden added, expressing concern about the impact on Israel’s international standing.
Biden has been warning for months that Israel risks losing international support due to mounting civilian casualties in Gaza, where the death toll has surpassed 31,000, CNN reported.
The strained relationship between the two leaders is evident in Biden’s latest remarks.
He emphasised that a potential Israeli invasion of the Gaza city of Rafah, where over 1.5 million Palestinians reside, is a “red line” for him.
Biden also said that he would not cut off weapons like the Iron Dome missile interceptors, which are crucial for protecting Israeli civilians from rocket attacks.
Additionally, the US military announced on Sunday that a ship had set sail carrying equipment to build a floating pier on Gaza’s coast, part of a Biden administration effort to deliver aid to the enclave by sea and help ease its hunger crisis, as reported by The New York Times.
The administration’s plan for a pier and causeway, announced last week, could eventually help deliver as many as two million meals a day for residents of Gaza. But the Pentagon has said that the project will take weeks to complete, and humanitarian officials have criticised the plans, saying delivering aid by truck is far more efficient.
Meanwhile, nearly 60,000 pregnant women in Gaza are suffering from malnutrition, dehydration, and lack of proper health care, according to the Gaza health ministry. The ministry said in a statement on Friday that about 5,000 women in Gaza were giving birth every month in “harsh, unsafe and unhealthy conditions as a result of bombardment and displacement,” as reported by The New York Times.-ANI