President Joe Biden is urging the Israeli government to avoid a full-on occupation of the Gaza Strip, and to draw a distinction between Hamas and the Palestinian people in Gaza.
Israeli forces have been carrying out airstrikes on Gaza since Hamas gunmen breached the Israel–Gaza barrier on Oct. 7, killing more than a thousand people and taking more than 200 hostages. The retaliatory Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip may be setting the stage for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to carry out a ground assault inside the territory.
In an Oct. 15 interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” host Scott Pelley, President Biden expressed support for Israeli efforts to eliminate Hamas but urged caution in the treatment of the civilian population within Gaza. Both the U.S. and Israeli governments have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization.
“Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people, and I think that it would be a mistake take for Israel to occupy Gaza again,” President Biden said.
President Biden agreed that Hamas should be eliminated entirely, but said an Israeli occupation of the Gaza Strip “would be a big mistake.”
As of Monday, Oct. 16, the health ministry in Gaza estimated 2,670 residents had been killed and 9,600 had been injured as a result of IDF airstrikes. Casualties from either side of the conflict are preliminary and difficult to independently verify at this time.
When asked about the civilian casualties in Gaza and whether it is time for a ceasefire, President Biden said he trusts the Israeli efforts to minimize casualties.
“Israel is going after a group of people who engaged in barbarism that is as consequential as the Holocaust, and so I think Israel has to respond, they have to go after Hamas,” President Biden said. “Now, Hamas is a bunch of cowards. They’re hiding behind the civilians. They put their headquarters where civilians are and buildings and the like. But to the extent that they can separate out and avoid, I’m confident the Israelis are going to do everything in their power to avoid the killing of innocent civilians.”
While it’s not clear that the IDF will fully occupy Gaza for any extended duration of time, the Israeli side has controlled the flow of people and essential items across the Israel–Gaza barrier since 2007. Following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks, the Israeli side began cutting off food, water, fuel, and electricity to Gaza, sparking concerns within the United Nations about a humanitarian crisis.
President Biden said he would like to see humanitarian corridors for people to evacuate from Gaza or bring in humanitarian supplies into the strip.
“So you do not agree with the Israeli total siege of the Gaza strip?” Mr. Pelley asked.
“I’m confident that Israel is going to act under the major—the rules of War. There’s a standard that democratic institutions and countries go by, and so I’m confident that there’s going to be an ability for the innocents in Gaza to be able to have access to medicine and food and water.”
Israel Not Planning Gaza Occupation: Israeli Ambassador
In an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Israeli Ambassador to the United States Michael Herzog said Israeli forces are amassing troops for a ground operation to destroy Hamas.
“We are determined to destroy the Hamas war machine so that they cannot threaten us again. We do not want to be in that game where every few years they launch a war against us or provoke us. That’s over, and we are determined to destroy the war machine,” Mr. Herzog said. “We are preparing a ground operation. I’m not going to go into details and timetables and all that, but we are at war and we’re going to fight that war.”
When asked of Israel’s plans after the initial ground operation to eliminate Hamas, Mr. Herzog said, “We have no desire to occupy or reoccupy Gaza.”
Mr. Herzog said the Israeli side wants displaced Palestinians to be able to return to their homes following the Israeli military operations and said the Israeli side is doing everything it can to minimize civilian casualties.
Biden Calls For Palestinian State, But ‘Not Now’
Along with urging Israel to avoid occupying Gaza and to confine its military operations to eliminating Hamas, President Biden voiced support for a “two-state solution”—a negotiated settlement in the long-running Israeli–Palestinian conflict that gives Palestinians their own independent nation. The U.S. government has historically supported such a solution, but there is disagreement among various Israeli and Palestinian factions as to whether such a solution is viable and what territory the Palestinians should ultimately control.
Asked whether he believes the Israeli government, currently under the control of the Likud Party, will want to work toward this two-state solution, President Biden replied, “not now, not now, but I think Israel understands that significant portions of Palestinian people do not share the views of Hamas.”