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Friday, July 12, 2024
Biden indicates that ending war in Gaza doesn’t mean ending hunt for Hamas’s leadership
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleJacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US President Joe Biden suggests that ending the war does not mean Israel won’t be able to continue going after Hamas’s leadership.
“It’s time to end this war. It doesn’t mean walk away from going after [Yahya] Sinwar and Hamas,” Biden says in a press conference.
US officials privately told The Times of Israel in May that the administration would still support Israel going after Hamas’s leadership after the war is over, but this appears to be the furthest Washington has gone in saying this publicly.
Biden reiterates what he told the war cabinet when he visited shortly after October 7.
“Don’t make the same mistake America made after bin Laden. There’s no need to occupy anywhere. Go after the people who did the job… Don’t think that’s what you should be doing, doubling down. We’ll help you find the bad guys — Sinwar and company,” he says.
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