More harm than good
Biden reprimands Netanyahu for waging war
March 10, 2024, 3:00 a.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
The humanitarian situation of the people in the Gaza Strip has been worsening dramatically for weeks. Human rights activists have long criticized Israel’s actions in the Palestinian territory. Now the tone from Washington is becoming harsher. US President Biden once again clearly criticizes Netanyahu’s conduct of the war.
US President Joe Biden says he sees more harm than good for Israel in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct of the war. In an interview with US broadcaster MSNBC, Biden said that Netanyahu’s actions were “doing more harm than good” to Israel. The Israeli prime minister has “a right to defend Israel, a right to continue to persecute Hamas,” Biden said. But he must “pay more attention to the innocent people who die as a result of the measures taken.”
Biden also warned of more deaths in the Gaza Strip. It should not be allowed that another 30,000 Palestinians die as a result of the action against Hamas, said the 81-year-old when asked whether a ground offensive in the city of Rafah represented a red line for him.
Israel has been taking massive military action in the Gaza Strip since the unprecedented attack by the radical Islamic group Hamas on October 7th. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, which cannot be independently verified, more than 30,900 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip so far. According to Israeli information, fighters from the Palestinian group, which is classified as a terrorist organization by the USA and the EU, killed around 1,160 people and kidnapped around 250 as hostages in the Hamas attack.
Biden no longer makes any secret of his frustration with Netanyahu. In his State of the Union speech on Thursday, he sharply criticized his intransigent stance. “I say this to the leadership in Israel: Humanitarian aid must not be a secondary consideration or a means of pressure. Protecting and saving innocent lives must be a priority.”
The US president wants to be re-elected this year and is coming under increasing pressure because of his support for Israel. A pro-Palestinian demonstration took place before his speech to Congress, with participants accusing Biden of genocide.