Biden calls Netanyahu's Gaza policy “misguided”

Photo: Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu

US President Joe Biden said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Gaza policy was “wrong” and called on Israel to declare a ceasefire. The president said this in an interview that aired on Tuesday, April 9, on Univision, AFP reported.

Biden's comments were some of his sharpest remarks against Netanyahu amid rising tensions over for the civilian casualties resulting from Israel's war against Hamas and the catastrophic conditions inside Gaza.

"I think what he is doing is a mistake. I don't agree with his approach,” Biden said in an interview with Univision, an American Spanish-language television network, when asked about Netanyahu's handling of the war.

Biden repeated that the Israeli drone attack on last week, which killed seven American aid workers in Gaza and sparked a tense phone call with Netanyahu, was “outrageous.”

“So I'm calling on the Israelis to just declare a ceasefire and allow full access to food and medicine coming into the country for the next six, eight weeks,” Biden added.

< p>His remarks about the ceasefire mark a shift from previous comments in which Biden said the onus was on Hamas to agree to a truce and the release of hostages.

Biden also increased pressure on Israel to allow more aid into devastated Gaza, saying he had already spoken with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt and they were “ready to bring this food.”

"There is no excuse for not meeting the nutritional and medication needs of these people. “It must be done now,” he added.

Biden's interview underscores a dramatic shift in his policy toward Israel after the killing of World Relief Kitchen workers in Gaza that sparked outrage around the world. p>

Biden has supported Israel since the unprecedented October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, while expressing growing concern over the loss of life in Gaza.

But it was only after a tense conversation with Netanyahu last week that he eventually warned that the United States The States will be forced to change policy if Israel does not change its military practices in Gaza.

In a call Thursday, Biden said Israel must immediately allow humanitarian aid and protect civilians, calling on Netanyahu to “empower his negotiators” to quickly reach a truce with Hamas.

Israel responded by agreeing to open new aid stations the same day and announcing over the weekend a withdrawal of troops from the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis.

But relations remain tense as Netanyahu insists on launching a ground operation in Rafah on the border with Egypt, which Washington strongly condemns.

As the presidential election approaches in November, Biden also faces growing opposition to his policies on the Gaza war from Muslim and young voters, with key allies urging him to change course.

Family members of some American hostages taken by Hamas during the attacks, met with Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House on Tuesday as deal talks continue.

"We need results. We need our people to come home,” Rachel Goldberg, whose son Hersh Goldberg-Paulin was among those captured, told reporters.

Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of American hostage Saga Dekel-Chen, called on Hamas to agree to the deal.

"The ball is in their court. There is no reason not to move forward on this deal,” he said.

But he warned against advancing on Rafah before the hostages are freed, adding that Israel's actions “must not again sacrifice hostages.”

Prepared by: Sergey Daga