In an interview that aired on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Gaza strategy a “mistake” and encouraged Israel to demand a ceasefire.
Amid mounting tensions over the number of civilian deaths from Israel’s attack on Hamas and the dreadful circumstances inside Gaza, Biden made some of his toughest criticisms of Netanyahu to date in his remarks. “I think what he’s doing is a mistake. I don’t agree with his approach,” Biden told Univision, a US Spanish-language TV network, when asked about Netanyahu’s handling of the war. Biden reiterated that an Israeli drone attack last week that killed seven aid workers from a US-based charity in Gaza and sparked a tense phone call with Netanyahu was “outrageous.” “So I what I’m calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into the country,” added Biden. His remarks on a ceasefire marked a shift from his previous comments, in which he has said the burden lies with Hamas to agree to a truce and hostage release deal. Biden also stepped up pressure on Israel to let more aid into devastated Gaza, saying he had spoken with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt and they were “prepared to move this food in.” “There’s no excuse to not provide for the medical and the food needs of those people. It should be done now,” he added.
The Biden interview highlighted the significant change in his stance toward Israel since the international community became outraged over Israel’s killings of World Central Kitchen humanitarian workers in Gaza.
