2023-10-25 05:49:00
Joe Biden has been performing a tightrope act against Israel for several days, with Washington showing its support for its ally while urging caution and a “humanitarian pause” in the fighting to allow the delivery of aid to Gaza.
The American president finds himself having to balance the unwavering support of the United States for Israel’s right to defend itself since the attacks of October 7, with concern about the fate of civilians in Gaza, and the risks of a spread of conflict.
The exercise becomes more and more difficult every day. Washington’s concerns over the Israeli plan to invade Gaza are only increasing, as are calls across the world for a ceasefire in the face of Israeli bombing of the Palestinian territory.
On Tuesday, Hamas claimed that 5,791 Palestinians, mostly civilians including 2,360 children, had been killed by Israeli retaliatory bombings since the start of the conflict.
More than 1,400 people were killed in Israel, most of them civilians on the day of the attack, according to Israeli authorities, who identified some 220 hostages kidnapped by Hamas.
Firmness
The White House publicly assures that the United States “does not dictate the terms” of the conflict to Israel, despite the presence on site of several of its military advisers.
Asked by reporters whether he had called on Israeli leaders to delay a ground invasion of Gaza, Joe Biden replied: “Israelis make their own decisions.”
The American executive has also adopted a firm line on the question of a truce, even though the UN Secretary General called on Tuesday for an “immediate” ceasefire and denounced the “clear violations” of the humanitarian law in Gaza.
A ceasefire in the Gaza Strip “would only benefit Hamas,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby repeated Tuesday.
But the real posture of the United States seems in fact more nuanced.
Joe Biden himself seemed to open the door to the establishment of a truce.
“The hostages must be released, then we can discuss,” he told a journalist on Monday who asked him about his potential support for a ceasefire agreement.
His statement was followed by that of the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, who on Tuesday asked the UN Security Council to support a resolution led by the United States calling for “humanitarian pauses” for the transport aid, but without a complete ceasefire.
Joe Biden also stressed the Palestinians’ need for more humanitarian aid, saying the delivery was “not fast enough.”
“Shocked”
The US position further reflects a broader concern about what an Israeli invasion of Gaza would mean.
According to the New York Times, Washington is concerned about Israel’s lack of “attainable military objectives” in Gaza, while the Washington Post says the Biden administration tried to curb an invasion in the days following the Gaza attacks. Hamas.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told ABC News over the weekend that invading Gaza could prove more difficult than the harrowing battle to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul from the Islamic State group in 2017.
“American officials are saying ‘look, we’ve been fighting counter-insurgencies in the Middle East for several decades, you need to think more deeply,'” Jon Alterman, an expert on the region at the Center for Strategic think tank, said on Monday. and International Studies in Washington.
“I don’t feel like Israelis are very receptive to it right now. They’re still in so much shock,” he added.
Visiting Israel last week, Joe Biden expressed his solidarity with the United States’ ally.
But he also called on him not to let himself be “consumed by rage”, as the United States was after the attacks of September 11, 2001, which, according to the American president, led to “mistakes”.
The White House, however, warned that civilian deaths were still expected in Gaza.
“It’s war. It’s a fight. It’s bloody, it’s ugly, and it will be chaotic, and innocent civilians will be affected,” said spokesman John Kirby.
25/10/2023 05:48:27 –
Washington (AFP) –
© 2023 AFP
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