US president issues some of his strongest criticis of Israel yet after deaths of seven aid workers in Israeli air strike.
In a statement issued by the White House on Tuesday night, Biden squarely accused Israel of not doing enough to protect innocent civilians in its war against Hamas.
“This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed. This is a major reason why distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza has been so difficult – because Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians,” Biden said, describing the deceased aid workers as “brave and selfless”.
“Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen. Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians. The US has repeatedly urged Israel to deconflict their military operations against Hamas with humanitarian operations, in order to avoid civilian casualties.”
Biden said that an investigation that Israel has promised to carry out into the incident “must be swift, it must bring accountability, and its findings must be made public”.
“The United States will continue to do all we can to deliver humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in Gaza, through all available means,” he said.
“I will continue to press Israel to do more to facilitate that aid. And we are pushing hard for an immediate ceasefire as part of a hostage deal. I have a team in Cairo working on this right now.”
I am outraged and heartbroken by the deaths of seven humanitarian workers from World Central Kitchen, including one American, in Gaza yesterday.
Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen.
Here is my full statement. pic.twitter.com/Nl2jq8wqTt
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 3, 2024
The seven workers for the US-based aid organisation World Central Kitchen were killed on Monday night when the convoy they were travelling in was attacked after unloading food aid in central Gaza’s city of Deir el-Balah.
A US-Canadian dual citizen, an Australian, a Pole, a Palestinian and three nationals of the United Kingdom were killed in the attack.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier on Tuesday acknowledged Israel’s responsibility for the attack, describing it as unintended and “tragic”.
“Unfortunately in the past day, there was a tragic event in which our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants in the Gaza Strip,” Netanyahu said in a video statement on Tuesday.
“This happens in war. We are conducting a thorough inquiry and are in contact with the governments. We will do everything to prevent a recurrence.”
Despite his insistence that Israel must protect civilians, Biden has faced growing pressure from progressives, Arab Americans and Muslims over his support for the war.
The White House on Tuesday cancelled a planned Ramadan iftar meal after several Muslim Americans declined the invitation in protest of Biden’s support for Israel, Al Jazeera reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.
The sources, who spoke to Al Jazeera on the condition of anonymity, said the cancellation came after Muslim community members warned leaders against attending the event.