US President Joe Biden has warned that Israel risks losing international support due to its “indiscriminate bombing” of civilians in its war against Hamas in the besieged Gaza Strip.
“Israel’s security may rest with the United States, but right now there is more than just the United States. There’s the European Union, there’s Europe, there’s most of the world supporting them,” Biden told donors at a fundraiser Tuesday.
“They’re starting to lose that support because of the indiscriminate bombing that’s happening,” Biden said.
More than 18,000 people have been killed and nearly 50,000 injured in Israel’s attack on Gaza since October 7, according to Palestinian health officials. Many other deaths are recorded under the rubble or beyond the reach of ambulances.
Israel launched its offensive in response to a raid by Hamas fighters from Gaza that killed around 1,200 people and captured 240 others in southern Israel, according to Israeli authorities.
Speaking at a political fundraiser, Biden also criticized Israel’s cabinet.
“This is the most conservative government in Israeli history,” the president said. “He (Netanyahu) must change this government. This government in Israel is making things very difficult. »
He also said Israel “cannot say no” to a Palestinian state, which Israeli extremists, including in Netanyahu’s government, have opposed.
Biden’s sharp comments coincided with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan preparing to travel to Israel for talks with the Israeli war cabinet.
Netanyahu said in a statement Tuesday that Israel had received “full support” from the United States for its ground offensive on Gaza and that Washington had blocked “international pressure to stop the war.”
“There is disagreement on ‘the day after Hamas’ and I hope we will reach an agreement here as well,” he added.
Washington has said it is considering a possible return of the Palestinian Authority to Gaza, which Hamas seized in 2007 from the West Bank-based body.
UNGA should call for ceasefire
The comments came before the United Nations General Assembly voted on a call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, after the United States vetoed a draft resolution at the Security Council last week. last week.
In October, the General Assembly called for “an immediate, lasting and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities” in a resolution adopted by 121 votes in favor, 14 against – including the United States – and 44 abstentions.
Some diplomats predict Tuesday’s resolution would garner greater support than the previous motion.
“The United States seems increasingly isolated on the international stage and that is not a good place for the United Nations and President Biden,” Salman Shaikh, policy advisor to the Shaikh Group, told Tel Aviv Tribune.
Canada, Australia and New Zealand expressed support for a ceasefire in Gaza in a joint statement on Tuesday.
In Gaza, Israeli bombings targeted both a UNWRA hospital and school in northern Gaza. In Khan Younis, the main city in southern Gaza, residents said Israeli tank shelling was now focused on the city center.
U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk described the situation in Gaza as “well beyond breakdown,” and another U.N. agency said 18 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure had been damaged. been destroyed since the start of the war.
“If you look at the humanitarian situation right now, it’s so precarious…extremely precarious,” Turk said. “It’s on the brink of breaking way beyond that.”
The U.N. satellite analysis agency, UNOSAT, examined high-resolution satellite images to determine that nearly 40,000 buildings were destroyed in the besieged enclave, 80 percent of them in northern Gaza.
