From the Liveblog of
Friday, February 9, 2024
Biden: ‘Conduct of response in Gaza has been over the top’; unclear remarks seen as critique of Israel, may refer to Hamas ceasefire proposal
As President Biden is leaving a White House press conference, reporters shout a hail of questions at him about “the hostage negotiations” and “Netanyahu says he’s ordered the IDF…”
The president turns back and says, “The hostage negotiations, look,” and returns to the microphone.”
“I’m of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in Gaza, in the Gaza Strip, has been over the top. I think that, as you know, the president of Mexico, Sissi” — Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi is, in fact, president of Egypt — “did not want to open up the gate to allow humanitarian material to get in. I talked to him. I convinced him to open the gate. I talked to Bibi [Netanyahu] to open the gate on the Israeli side. I’ve been pushing really hard, really hard, to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza. There are a lot of innocent people who are starving, a lot of innocent people who are in trouble and dying, and it’s gotta stop. Number one.”
“Number two: I was also in the position that I’m the guy who made the case that we have to do much more to increase the amount of material going in, including fuel, including other items. I’ve been on the phone with the Qataris. I’ve been on the phone with the Egyptians. I’ve been on the phone with the Saudis to get as much aid as we possibly can into Gaza. They’re innocent people, innocent women and children who are also in bad, badly need of help. And so that’s what we’re pushing.
“And I’m pushing very hard now to deal with this hostage ceasefire,” he continues. “Because, you know, I’ve been working tirelessly for this deal, how can I say this without revealing it, to lead to a sustained pause in the fighting in, in the actions taking place, in the Gaza Strip. And, because I think if we can get the delay for that, an initial delay, I think that we would be able to extend that, so that we can increase the prospect that this fighting in Gaza changes.”
He also recalls pre-war negotiations on Saudi-Israel normalization, to help Israel fully integrate Israel into the Middle East and defend itself against Iran. He suggests that Hamas struck on October 7 to try to prevent this process.
Biden’s remarks about an “over the top” response appear to be in response to the shouted question about “the hostage negotiations,” echoing the phrase “over the top” that he used Tuesday to describe the Hamas response to a US- and Israel-backed framework proposal for a truce-for-hostages deal. However, they are somewhat ambiguous and are widely reported as marking a critique of Israel’s conduct of the war against Hamas in Gaza, which his Secretary of State Antony Blinken harshly criticized on Wednesday, and where Biden has previously accused Israel of “indiscriminate bombing.”
The remarks come as the Democratic president has come under increasing domestic pressure to press Israel on a ceasefire.
The White House did not respond to a request to elaborate on Biden’s remarks.
* This item was updated, and includes fuller quotes and video of Biden’s remarks.
