Israel: Joe Biden denounces Hamas assault as ‘sheer evil’
US President Joe Biden has “privately” given his backing to Israel, it has been reported.
Mr Biden visited the country on Wednesday amid intensifying hostility in the Middle East, with Israel now at war with Hamas.
Sources present at the meeting between Mr Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that the US President gave his approval for plans to “crush Hamas”.
Israel has bombarded Gaza in recent days after Hamas terrorists broke into Israel and killed over 1,400 civilians.
Israeli strikes have killed 2,800 Gazans with a humanitarian crisis hitting the enclave. Mr Biden has reportedly secured a deal which will see Israel allow aid into the territory.
Tensions have also boiled after a rocket struck a Gaza hospital on Tuesday. The US believes it was a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket after Israel denied responsibility.
Mr Biden also sent an ominous warning to the Israelis – don’t make the same mistakes the US did after 9/11.
The US President has called for Israel to show “restraint” amid concerns the country has committed war crimes by imposing a siege on the Gaza Strip.
He said: “Don’t be consumed by that rage. After 9/11, while we sought justice and got justice, we made mistakes.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has been reluctant to get involved in the Israel-Hamas conflict, but he spoke to Mr Netanyahu on the phone on Wednesday.
He reportedly told him: “The emergence of an independent Palestine will create conditions for lasting peace.”
However, Eli Cohen, Israel’s foreign minister, told Army Radio: “At the end of this war, not only will Hamas no longer be in Gaza but the territory of Gaza will also decrease.”
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In the UK, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak refused to back calls for a ceasefire during PMQs, saying Israel has a “right to defend itself, to protect its people and to act against terrorism and ensure that the awful attack we’ve seen from Hamas cannot happen again”.
He added: “And unlike Hamas, the Israelis, including the president, have made it clear that their armed forces will operate in accordance with international law. And we will continue to urge the Israelis to take every precaution to avoid harming civilians.”
Mr Sunak will visit Israel this week, according to reports.
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