United States President Joe Biden has said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making a \u201cmistake\u201d in his handling of the Gaza war and its repercussions inside Israel and internationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think what he\u2019s doing is a mistake. I don\u2019t agree with his approach,\u201d Biden told Univision, a US-based, Spanish-language television network, in an interview that aired late on Tuesday when asked whether Netanyahu was putting his own political survival before national interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biden also said it was \u201coutrageous\u201d that Israel targeted a convoy of US food charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) in Gaza, killing seven aid workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo what I\u2019m calling for is the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, a total access to all food and medicine going into the country,\u201d he said, adding that other countries were ready to help as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019ve spoken to everyone from the Saudis to the Jordanians to the Egyptians. They\u2019re prepared to move this food in. There\u2019s no excuse to not provide for the medical and food needs of those people. It should be done now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Al Jazeera\u2019s White House Correspondent Patty Culhane reported that the interview took place last week, shortly after the WCK aid workers were killed in an Israeli military attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Biden was only asked one question on Gaza, Culhane said, if \u201che thought that \u2026 Netanyahu was putting his political survival over the interests of Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It remains to be seen if Biden\u2019s staff later walk back his remarks on the ceasefire that he called for, Culhane added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While international pressure is growing for a truce in the six-month war, there has been no progress in weeks of talks with Israeli and Hamas officials as well as international mediators \u2013 the US, Egypt and Qatar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Senior officials in the US administration continue to defend and support the war \u2013 while sending weapons to Israel \u2013 even as 33,360 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In testimony before the US Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin again categorically rejected that Israel is perpetrating genocide in the besieged enclave, where famine has set in, children have died of malnutrition and Israeli authorities have continued to block humanitarian aid convoys while carrying out attacks across the territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t have any evidence of genocide being created,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At a joint news conference in Washington, DC, alongside British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the enclave needs more humanitarian assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said what matters is \u201csustained results\u201d and that means ensuring aid \u201cis distributed effectively throughout Gaza\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Netanyahu announced Israel has decided on a date for its planned ground invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza, Blinken said the US has not been briefed on the decision and that he is expected to meet with Israeli officials next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe do not have a date for any Rafah operation. On the contrary, what we have is an ongoing conversation with Israel. The president has been very clear about our concerns about Israel\u2019s ability to move civilians out of harm\u2019s way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rafah, bordering Egypt, is where about 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are taking shelter. Israel has long threatened an offensive there, but the US has opposed this absent a plan to evacuate Palestinians from the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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