Israel/Palestine

Source: The Guardian

Joe Biden issues strident defence of refusal to call for ceasefire in Gaza

US president argues Hamas has said it will not stop attacking Israel, and says he is ‘mildly hopeful’ of hostage deal

Julian Borger World affairs editor
Thu 16 Nov 2023 04.22 EST
First published on Wed 15 Nov 2023 23.42 EST

Joe Biden has presented an unapologetic defence of his refusal to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, arguing that Hamas represents a continuing threat to Israel and that Israeli forces were seeking to avoid civilian casualties.

After a summit meeting with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, on the sidelines of the Apec summit in San Francisco, Biden told reporters on Wednesday night that Hamas had pledged to continue its attacks on Israel.

Biden also argued that Israeli forces had switched from aerial bombardment, which he seemed to acknowledge had been indiscriminate in parts, to more targeted ground operations, after more than 11,000 Palestinians are reported to have died.

He said: “It is not carpet bombing. This is a different thing. They’re going through these tunnels, they’re going into the hospital. They’re also bringing in incubators or bringing in other means to help people in the hospital, and they’ve given, I’m told, the doctors and nurses and personnel the opportunity to get out of harm’s way. So this is a different story than I believe it was occurring before, the indiscriminate bombing.”

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Original Guardian link (registration required): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/16/joe-biden-israel-hamas-war-ceasefire-defence-gaza-why-palestine