JERUSALEM – A far-right Israeli government minister’s criticism of President Joe Biden on Sunday said he would allow Donald Trump more freedom to fight Hamas, sparking anger there and denying the United States critical support for its offensive against Islamic extremists. This highlighted the delicate nature of the relationship. Gaza.
In the four months since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack that sparked the war, the Biden administration has bypassed Congress, rushed weapons to Israel and shielded Israel from international calls for a ceasefire.
But the White House urged Israel to take stronger steps to avoid harm to civilians and facilitate the delivery of more aid to besieged Gaza.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel again this week in his latest trip to the region.
Israeli Minister of National Security Itamar Ben Gvir said: Interview with Wall Street Journal Biden is obstructing Israel’s war effort.
“Instead of giving us full support, Biden is busy providing humanitarian aid and fuel (to Gaza), which goes to Hamas,” Bengvir said. “If Trump had been in power, America’s actions would have been very different.”
His comments drew condemnation from Benny Gantz, a retired general and member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s three-member war cabinet, who said Ben Gvir was causing “tremendous damage” to U.S.-Israel relations. Stated.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid, who also posted on X, said Ben Gvir’s comments prove that he “doesn’t understand foreign relations.”
The Palestinian Foreign Ministry has condemned Ben Gvir’s comments as “racist” and called for international sanctions, saying he threatens regional stability.
Prime Minister Netanyahu did not mention Ben Gvir by name, but appeared to refer to Ben Gvir’s remarks during his weekly cabinet speech.
The prime minister thanked Biden for his support and highlighted his experience dealing with multiple U.S. administrations’ approaches to Israel’s most important alliance.
“There are people who say ‘no’ to everything and get applause at home, but they are also putting vital interests at risk,” he said.
Ben Gvir, along with other far-right figures, has called for a “voluntary” mass emigration of Palestinians from Gaza and the return of Jewish settlements that Israel cleared when it withdrew its troops from the Gaza Strip in 2005. I’m looking for it. The Biden administration is against it. It also handles such scenarios.
Ben Gvir and other key members of Netanyahu’s coalition have threatened to overthrow his government if they believe he is being too soft on Hamas.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told his cabinet that the military was carrying out “very aggressive raids” in northern and central Gaza while dealing with remaining Hamas battalions around Gaza’s southernmost city, Rafah.
The war in Gaza has destroyed vast swathes of this small enclave, displaced 85% of the population and driven a quarter of the population to starvation.
Gaza’s Ministry of Health said 127 bodies were taken to hospitals in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 27,365.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but says most of the dead were women and children.
In central Gaza, Israeli airstrikes hit a house and a mosque in Deir al-Balah, killing 15 people and injuring at least 45 others, including children, according to an Associated Press reporter at the scene.
At Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, a man wept next to a corpse wrapped in a blanket.
Other Palestinians were also evacuated to hospitals, but there was little relief. “People like me have been here for three months, two and a half months, and I haven’t taken a shower. What can we do? We want to go home,” Gaza City. said Basema al-Haddad, who was evacuated from.
Two children were killed in separate airstrikes in Rafah, according to the registry office of the hospital where the bodies were taken.
The first attack hit a house in Geneina refugee camp, killing a 12-year-old boy. The second bullet hit a room on the west side of the Rafah border crossing, killing a two-year-old child.
The body was lying on the hospital floor. A female relative of hers bent down and gently touched one child’s face.
Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, told CBS that further aid to Gaza would be a “top priority” during Blinken’s visit to the area.
Blinken will begin with a visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday, followed by stops in Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank.
Another focus is on the U.S., Qatari, These are tense negotiations with Israel mediated by Egypt.
“It’s up to Hamas to come forward and respond to serious proposals,” Sullivan told NBC, adding there was no clear estimate of how many of the hostages remained alive.
Hamas and other militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted about 250 in the October 7 attack.
During a week-long ceasefire in November, more than 100 prisoners, mostly women and children, were released in exchange for the release of 240 Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
Hamas said it would not release any more hostages until Israel ended its offensive. He also demands the release of thousands of Palestinian prisoners of war. Prime Minister Netanyahu publicly denied both demands.
Hamas is expected to accept the latest ceasefire offer within days.
