U.S. President Joe Biden said Thursday that he doesn’t believe Israel’s onslaught against the besieged Gaza Strip this week has been a “significant overreaction,” remarks that came shortly before the Israeli military escalated its assault on the densely populated territory with air and artillery attacks involving nearly 200 war planes, tanks, and brigades of ground troops.
Biden is facing growing calls from U.S. lawmakers to speak out forcefully against Israel’s bombardment of residential buildings and killing of children with airstrikes, but the U.S. president has thus far refused to heed such demands, issuing broad statements stressing his “unwavering” support for Israel’s right to self-defense as the Palestinian death toll continues to climb.
Speaking to the press on Thursday, Biden pointed to his conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the findings of the U.S. intelligence community to justify his position that Israel’s conduct in Gaza has thus far been a reasonably proportionate response to Hamas rocket attacks—which began after Israeli police raided the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, wounding hundreds of Palestinians.
Hours after Biden’s comments, Israel added three brigades of ground troops to its air offensive in Gaza, further endangering civilians living in what has been described by Palestinians and human rights advocates as the world’s largest open-air prison.
According to Gaza’s Health Ministry, 119 people have been killed—including 31 children—and 830 have been wounded by the Israeli assault thus far. In Israel, seven people have been killed, including a six-year-old boy and a soldier.
Israel’s intensifying air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip came as U.S. members of Congress took to the floor of the House of Representatives to voice solidarity with the Palestinian people as they face both the immediate threat of airstrikes and the constant dehumanization inflicted by an apartheid regime.
The lawmakers stressed that by providing funding to the Israeli military and unquestioning support for its actions, the United States is and has long been complicit in the abuse and murder of Palestinians who have been denied basic rights and dignity for decades.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT