WASHINGTON – President Biden said Tuesday that international humanitarian aid intended for Palestinian civilians is arriving too slowly as Israel and the Hamas terrorist group fight in the densely populated Gaza Strip.
“Not fast enough,” Biden said in response to a question about delivering aid as he left a science awards ceremony at the White House.
The 80-year-old president said last week that he had convinced Egyptian officials to open the long-closed Rafah border crossing to food and medicine, after Israeli crossings were closed following the Hamas massacre of more of 1,400 people in their October 7 attack on southern Israel.
A convoy of 20 trucks entered Gaza on Saturday after Egyptian officials repaved the road.
Last week, Biden pledged $100 million in U.S. aid to Palestinians affected by the crisis in the Hamas-ruled West Bank and Gaza and separately requested that Congress approve $14.3 billion in aid to Israel, including offensive and defensive military equipment. .
President Biden said Tuesday that international humanitarian aid to Palestinian civilians is coming too slowly.AP
The Biden administration has reportedly been pressuring Israel to postpone a planned ground invasion to remove Hamas from power in Gaza and allow further negotiations to free more than 200 people believed to have been taken hostage.
Follow the Post’s coverage of Israel’s war against Hamas
The White House has refused to publicly confirm that it is asking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay an invasion as the Israeli army bombs Gaza with airstrikes and Hamas continues to fire rockets at the Jewish state.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday that the United States rejects calls for a ceasefire in the conflict, which have been backed by a handful of far-left Democrats in the House of Representatives.
“A ceasefire at this time really only benefits Hamas,” Kirby said at the regular White House briefing.
The 80-year-old president said last week that he had convinced Egyptian officials to open the long-closed Rafah border crossing to food and medicine.REUTERS
Hamas on Friday released two U.S. citizens kidnapped during the Oct. 7 attack and the terrorist group is believed to be holding 10 other Americans. On Monday he released two elderly Israeli citizens.
Although Biden has publicly supported Israel in its promise to crush Hamas, he said Monday that he told Pope Francis the U.S. “game plan” during a Sunday call and that “the Pope supported across the board what we are doing”.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday at the United Nations that Israel must proceed cautiously in Gaza, which has a population of about 2 million.
The Biden administration has reportedly been pressuring Israel to postpone a planned ground invasion to remove Hamas from power in Gaza.KHALED ELFIQI/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Among the civilian dead reported in Gaza were several Palestinian Christian cousins of former Rep. Justin Amash (R-Mich.), who said they were taking shelter in a church complex that partially collapsed following a nearby Israeli airstrike.
“At the center of our efforts to save innocent lives in this conflict, and in every conflict, is our fundamental belief that every civilian life is equally valuable,” Blinken said. “There is no hierarchy when it comes to protecting civilian lives. A civilian is a civilian is a civilian, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, age, gender or faith.”
Blinken also boasted about the amount of US aid to the Palestinians, which was largely suspended during former President Donald Trump’s administration but resumed in 2021 by Biden.
“The United States has committed an additional $100 million in humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, bringing the total aid we have provided to the Palestinian people over the past two and a half years to more than $1.6 billion,” Blinken said. . “That makes the United States by far the largest single donor to the Palestinian people.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn