“The conduct of the response in the Gaza Strip has been over the top,” US President Joe Biden said as he appeared to publicly attack IDF actions in the enclave amid tension between Washington and Jerusalem over Israel’s military operations.
He made the impromptu harsh remark after reporters at the White House on Thursday night shot multiple questions at him about Israel, Gaza, and the possibility of a hostage deal.
Biden spoke hours after US National Security Adviser spokesperson John Kirby openly warned Israel that the Biden administration would oppose an IDF military operation in Gaza’s Rafah by the Egyptian border. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu one day earlier said he planned to order troops into Rafah, a Hamas stronghold.
At issue between them is Israeli plans to protect the more than a million civilians who have sought shelter in that area. The Biden administration has been blunt in its assessment that Israel can do more to protect civilians in Gaza.
Hamas has asserted that over 27,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since its October 7 attack on Israel, in which over 1,200 people were killed and 253 seized as hostages.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden has always been clear with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and what Biden said yesterday he's done before.
"Obviously, we believe Israel has the right to defend itself. Obviously, we believe we are in agreement that they have to make sure they deal with this terrorist organization that on Oct. 7 terrorized and killed more than 1,200 people - that is a reality," Jean-Pierre said. "But the president has also been clear that their military operations need to be done in a precise way and more targeted way."
In the broader scope, Jean-Pierre said Biden has been working with his team to make sure there's another humanitarian pause.
"We understand how important it is to bring the hostages home," Jean-Pierre said, "and also get that really important humanitarian aid in there."
US pressures Israel to facilitate humanitarian aid to Gaza
The US has also pressed Israel to do more to allow humanitarian assistance into the enclave, with a recent focus on the passage of goods into North Gaza through the Erez Crossing.
On Thursday in Washington, as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was wrapping up his two-day visit to Israel and a week-long trip to the region, the White House issued a National Security Memorandum that linked defense assistance to adherence to international humanitarian law.
The Memorandum asks Blinken to “obtain credible and reliable written assurances from a representative of the recipient country as the Secretary of State deems appropriate that the recipient country will use any such defense articles in accordance with international humanitarian law and, as applicable, other international law.”
While in Israel, Blinken gave an impassioned speech backing Israel’s right to self-defense against Hamas, particularly in light of the Hamas-led October attack in which over 1,200 people were killed and 253 were seized as hostage.
“Israelis were dehumanized most horrifically on October 7th,” Blinken said, but then he added a caveat. “The hostages have been dehumanized every day since. But that cannot be a license to dehumanize others,” Blinken stated.
At the White House on Thursday, Biden brought up the issue of humanitarian assistance when specifically asked about the hostage situation.
“I am of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in the Gaza Strip has been over the top.”
He noted that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi initially did not want to open up the Rafah Crossing to allow humanitarian assistance into Gaza.
“I talked to him. I convinced him to open the gate. I talked to Bibi [Netanyahu] to open the gate on the Israeli side. I have been pushing really hard to get humanitarian aid into Gaza. A lot of innocent people are starving. A lot of innocent people are dying. I am the guy that made the case that we have to do much more to increase the amount of material going in, including fuel, including other items.
“I have been on the phone with the Qataris, the Egyptians, the Saudis, to get as much aid as we possibly can into Gaza,” Biden said.
He added that he was working timely on a hostage deal for the remaining 136 captives in the Strip that would lead to a “sustained pause.”
But there were some pundits and journalists who speculated that when Biden spoke about the over-the-top conduct, he meant Hamas. Earlier this week, he had spoken of Hamas’ demands for a hostage deal as being “over the top.”
In his remarks, he accidentally referred to Sisi of Egypt as the Mexican President, a step which allowed pundits to speculate that Hamas and Israel had also been confused, even though Biden’s words were general on that score and did not mention either party.