The US president has said that Israel’s Netanyahu is ‘harming Israel’ more than helping to manage the war.
US President Joe Biden has warned there are “red lines” Israel must not cross in its war in Gaza while insisting it will never abandon the US ally.
In a controversial and confusing interview with MSNBC that aired Saturday, Biden said an Israeli attack on the city of Rafah would be his “red line” for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but that he would never “give up on Israel.”
“Israel’s defense is still fragile, so there is no red line [where] I’m going to cut all the weapons so they don’t have Iron Dome for protection,” Biden said, referring to Israel’s missile defense system.
“But there are red lines that if he crosses them…”, Biden said without ending his chain of thought, adding that his administration “can’t kill 30,000 more Palestinians”.
In his most scathing criticism of an Israeli leader yet, Biden also said that Netanyahu is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel” and “should be more focused on the loss of innocent lives” in Gaza.
While Biden has strongly backed Israel in its campaign to destroy Hamas, his administration has been at odds with Netanyahu over the scale of civilian casualties in Gaza and restrictions on humanitarian aid to the enclave.
The Biden administration has repeatedly urged Netanyahu not to launch the planned offensive in Rafah until Israel ensures the safe evacuation of the 1.3 million Palestinians who have taken refuge in the city.
On Thursday, Biden announced plans to build a temporary port in Gaza to allow aid to be delivered by sea, amid tight Israeli restrictions on transporting goods by land.
Biden expressed hope last month that Israel and Hamas could agree to a temporary pause in fighting before Ramadan, but hope for a deal was dashed when mediators left Cairo last week without a deal.
Biden said during his interview on Saturday that a deal was “always possible” and that CIA Director Bill Burns was still in the region to facilitate talks after meeting with his counterpart at Israel’s Mossad, David Bernie, the previous day. he
The Mossad said on Saturday that discussions on a cease-fire were taking place “all the time” despite expectations of a breakthrough.
Israel’s war in Gaza has killed more than 30,800 Palestinians, the majority of them women and children, according to health authorities in the enclave.
According to Israeli authorities, 1,139 people were killed in Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7.
