The US criticizes Israel for its ‘indiscriminate’ bombing of Gaza.
President Biden met with the families of Americans held hostage in Gaza at the White House on Wednesday, a day after making his most critical comments yet about what he called Israel’s “indiscriminate bombing” of the territory.
Mr Biden said on Tuesday that the nature of Israel’s attacks on Gaza was eroding broad international support for its war against Hamas, the group that controls much of Gaza and killed more than 1,200 people in southern Israel on October 7 . Palestinian civilians fleeing the fighting and moving further south at the behest of the Israeli army have been hit by airstrikes, even in places where they have been told to take refuge. At least 15,000 people, and likely thousands more, have been killed in Gaza since Israel began its offensive more than two months ago, according to local health authorities.
The president’s comments at a fundraiser in Washington were a sign of the widening rift between American and Israeli leaders. Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel reaffirmed his position that the Palestinian Authority should not be involved in the administration of Gaza after the war, something the United States has publicly advocated after the conflict.
“Yes, there is disagreement about ‘the day after Hamas,’” Netanyahu said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
Jake Sullivan, Mr Biden’s national security adviser, said Tuesday that he would soon travel to Israel to meet with Mr Netanyahu, his war cabinet and other Israeli leaders, with messages from the president to discuss “timetables” for the end of the war. Speaking at a Wall Street Journal forum in Washington, Mr. Sullivan reiterated the U.S. position that a “renewed and revitalized” Palestinian Authority should oversee Gaza and the West Bank.
Last week, Antony J. Blinken, the US Secretary of State, expressed concern that Israel was not doing enough to limit the human toll in Gaza. He said “a gap remains” between Israel’s stated “intent to protect civilians and actual results.” that we see on the ground.”
Still, the United States has remained steadfast in its support of Israel in the war, casting the lone vote last week against a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire. The shift in world opinion appeared visible on Tuesday when more than three-quarters of the larger 193-member UN body known as the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of a non-binding resolution to end the conflict. The United States was one of ten countries that voted against.
The White House confirmed that Biden would meet on Wednesday with the families of some of the estimated eight U.S. citizenship hostages held in Gaza, his first in-person meeting with relatives of the detainees. The president previously spoke to them via video call.
About 100 of the 240 hostages kidnapped on October 7 have been released, including some Americans.