TEL AVIV: US President Joe Biden on Wednesday reiterated his country’s support to Israel amid the ongoing war with Hamas and admired the courage, commitment, and bravery of Israelis, as per The Times of Israel.
“Their courage, their commitment, their bravery is stunning. I’m proud to be here,” Biden said in a message to Israelis during his official visit to Tel Aviv.
The US President said the explosion at al-Ahli hospital in Gaza appears to have been caused by Gazan terror groups and not Israel. “I am deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday. And based on what I’ve seen, it appears it was done by the other team, and not you”, he said. He added, “there are a lot of people out there who are not sure.”
An airstrike on a hospital in Gaza City on Tuesday claimed the lives of hundreds of people, according to health authorities. Israel’s Embassy in India has said that an Al Jazeera broadcast captured the moment Islamic Jihad launched a rocket that misfired and hit a hospital in Gaza, killing hundreds.
“Two things to note here: 1. Iron Dome cannot stop rockets over Gaza because of their trajectory. 2. You can clearly see in the video that the rocket misfires, explodes over Gaza, splits into two and the explosive part (warhead) falls on the hospital,” the embassy wrote on ‘X’.
Meanwhile, Biden told Netanyahu, “I wanted to be here today for a simple reason: I want the people of Israel and the people of the world to know where the United States stands…. I wanted to personally come and make that clear.”
Biden stressed that the terrorist group Hamas “slaughtered” over 1,300 people, “and that’s not hyperbole, just slaughtered… including 31 Americans. They have taken scores of people hostage, including children. You(Netanyahu) said, Imagine what those children hiding from Hamas were thinking. It’s beyond my comprehension to imagine what they were thinking.”
“They have committed evils and atrocities that make ISIS look somewhat more rational,” he notes. “Americans are grieving with you, they really are. Americans are worried… because they know this is not an easy field to navigate what you have to do.”
“Israel, as they respond to these attacks, it seems to me that you have to continue to ensure that you have what you need to defend yourselves. And we’re going to make sure that occurs,” he added. Biden said that Hamas does not represent all the Palestinian people and has brought them only suffering.
Biden arrived in Tel Aviv today to show US support to its Middle Eastern ally as Israel entered the 12th day of war against the Hamas terror group. Upon his arrival, Biden was received by PM Netanyahu and President Issac Herzog on the tarmac. The usual formalities for such a visit, such as a greeting by the full Israeli cabinet and religious leaders, etc were not observed.
Herzog wrote on ‘X’, “Welcome Mr President, God bless you for protecting the nation of Israel.” (ANI)