Benjamin Netanyahu must allow more humanitarian aid to flow to Gaza, according to President Joe Biden. The latter, after his State of the Union speech, was overheard saying that he would have a frank discussion with the Israeli Prime Minister. Israel’s main supporter, the United States, has criticized the conduct of the war against Hamas.
US President Joe Biden said Friday that Benjamin Netanyahu must allow more humanitarian aid to flow after he was caught saying he would have a frank discussion with Israel’s prime minister over the war in Gaza.
“He will have to understand”
“Yes,” replied Joe Biden to journalists who asked him if Benjamin Netanyahu should do more to allow the delivery of aid. “He will have to understand,” the Democratic leader said Thursday evening, on the sidelines of his State of the Union speech, according to an American media video in which the president, who was speaking to a senator, did not seem not knowing he was within microphone range.
The United States is Israel’s main supporter, but the Biden administration has recently voiced sharper public criticism of the conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza, including insufficient humanitarian aid authorized by Israel. The Palestinian territory, bombed and besieged by Israel, is in the grip of famine. The United States has been dropping aid by air for a week and Joe Biden announced Thursday that his army was going to set up a temporary port to transport food.
In the midst of his re-election campaign, the Democratic president is facing pressure from part of his camp and the left to toughen his tone towards Israel. Thursday’s remarks on the sidelines of his speech and captured by the press are not a first for Joe Biden, who on numerous occasions was surprised by microphones placed where he thought he was making private remarks.