Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized President Joe Biden on his recent comments on the ongoing war in Gaza. The statement also came as Biden increased his criticism of the Israeli operations, including a possible attack on Hamas’ last stronghold.
Netanyahu said that Biden’s statements were “wrong.” He further asserted that most Israelis supported the ongoing campaign in Gaza. A recent survey found that 75% of Jewish Israelis supported an attack on Rafah.
The prime minister said that the “vast majority are united as never before, and they understand what’s good for Israel.”
Netanyahu’s comments came after Biden was caught on video stating that Netanyahu needed a “come to Jesus” moment after the State of the Union address.
Biden criticized Netanyahu’s approach to the ongoing conflict, saying that he was “hurting Israel more than he’s helping.” Furthermore, Vice President Kamala Harris said that she made a distinction between the government and the people of Israel.
“I don’t know exactly what the president meant, but if he meant by that that I’m pursuing private policies against the majority, the wish of the majority of Israelis, and that this is hurting the interests of Israel, then he’s wrong on both counts,” said Netanyahu.
Netanyahu said that the military campaign in Gaza was “something that I think is also for the interests of Israel because the majority of Israelis understand that if we don’t do this, what we’ll have is a repetition of the October 7th massacre, which is bad for Israel, bad for the Palestinians, bad for the future of peace in the Middle East.”
Biden said that an attack on Rafah would be a “red line.”
Israel is preparing an attack on Rafah, the last major stronghold of Hamas after capturing much of aza since the start of the conflict in October. Over the weekend, Israel launched an attack targeting one of the highest leaders of Hamas.
Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people.
Israel accepted a plan for a Ramadan ceasefire for the Muslim holy month. However, Hamas rejected the plan.
Senior U.S. Officials have stated that they see nothing so far to suggest that Israel is preparing to launch an Imminent Ground Operation into the City of Rafah within the Southern Gaza Strip as Ramadan begins in the next few hours.
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) March 11, 2024
The latest concern about the conflict in Gaza also comes as the conflict in the Middle East expands. The Houthi rebel group in Yemen announced that it would escalate its attacks on shipping in the Red Sea for Ramadan.
