SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
"Netanyahu has been citing Biden's ironclad support of him as the *reason* he does not have to work harder to get a hostage deal," said one observer.
U.S. President Joe Biden said Monday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu isn't doing enough to secure an agreement on the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, a statement ridiculed by critics who asserted that the Biden administration's unconditional support for Israel empowers its far-right government to keep stonewalling a potential deal.
Speaking to reporters at a White House press conference, Biden
responded "no" when asked if Netanyahu is doing enough to reach an agreement to free the approximately 100 Israelis and others—including seven Americans—who are believed to be still alive in Gaza.
Biden added that his administration is "very close" to presenting a final draft agreement to negotiators working toward securing a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of remaining hostages.
More than 240 Israelis and others were kidnapped and taken to Gaza during the October 7 attack on Israel. Hamas has released 109 hostages, while eight have been rescued by Israeli forces, who killed or wounded more than 600 people during a June raid to free four people. Numerous other hostages have been killed by Israeli airstrikes, so-called "friendly fire" accidents, and deliberate attacks under the Hannibal Directive, a policy meant to prevent Israelis from being captured by enemy forces. Hamas is also believed to have executed some of the captives.
The president's comments came after six hostages held by Hamas, including 23-year-old American-Israeli Hersh Goldberg-Polin, were killed in a tunnel in Gaza. Their deaths sparked massive protests in Israel and beyond at which demonstrators demanded Netanyahu do more to free the remaining captives.
Numerous observers blamed Biden for enabling Israel's obliteration of Gaza with his "unwavering" support, including billions of dollars in arms shipments and diplomatic cover in the form of United Nations Security Council cease-fire resolution vetoes.
"Netanyahu has been citing Biden's ironclad support of him as the *reason* he does not have to work harder to get a hostage deal," U.S. journalist Ryan Grim said on social media. "Incredibly rich of Biden to complain about the consequences of his own actions."
Jack Mirkinson, a senior editor at
The Nation and co-founder of the Discourse blog, said that "everyone, including Biden, knows that Netanyahu is *actively sabotaging* a deal, not simply 'not doing enough.'"
"Biden can't say this because he is helping Netanyahu prolong the war," he added. "But there's no reason for anyone else to indulge this fiction."
Referring to Monday's general strike in Israel—in which workers across the country walked off their jobs to protest Netanyahu's refusal to agree to a cease-fire and hostage release deal—Medea Benjamin, co-founder of the peace group CodePink,
said on social media: "If Biden truly stood with hostage families, he'd halt weapons to Israel until a cease-fire is reached. Maybe it's time for a general strike in the U.S. too!"
Many critics also repeated accusations that Netanyahu is stalling or trying to torpedo a potential deal so he can prolong the war and delay his ouster from office. The prime minister is currently on trial for corruption and also faces bribery, fraud, and breach of trust charges over three cases. He could be jailed for 10 years if fully convicted on all counts.
Asked earlier this year if Netanyahu is deliberately prolonging the war for his political self-preservation, Biden said that "there is every reason for people to draw that conclusion."
Meanwhile, Israel's Gaza onslaught continued Monday with attacks including a bombing of yet another school-turned-shelter in Gaza City that killed at least 11 people, including a woman and a child.
With unconditional U.S. support, Israel has killed at least 40,786 Palestinians in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and international organizations. Israeli bombs and bullets have injured more than 94,200 others, forcibly displaced over 2 million, and pushed much of Gaza into famine.
Israel's bombardment, invasion, and siege—which are accompanied by genocidal statements from numerous Israeli leaders—have led many
legal experts and scholars to assert that it is committing genocide. Israel is currently on trial for genocide at the International Court of Justice and the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has applied for warrants to arrest Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and three Hamas leaders—at least one of whom, political chief Ismail Haniyeh, has been assassinated by Israel.
"What more can I do?" asked one peace campaigner. "I can go on this flotilla to try to break the criminal siege that Israel has imposed on Gaza."
As Israel continues to starve Palestinians to death in the Gaza Strip, an international coalition on Friday was preparing to set sail with humanitarian aid and human rights observers "to challenge the ongoing illegal Israeli blockade."
Israel has limited the flow of people and essential goods in and out of Gaza for nearly two decades but dramatically increased those restrictions in response to the Hamas-led October 7 attack. Six months later, Israeli bombs, bullets, and limits on necessities have killed and wounded over 108,000 people and displaced most of the Palestinian territory's 2.3 million residents.
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), which has "sailed since 2010 with the goal of breaking the blockade of Gaza," plans to head toward the besieged enclave with 5,500 tons of humanitarian aid and hundreds of observers in mid-April.
In a Thursday statement about the effort, Ismail Moola of South Africa's Palestine Solidarity Alliance—which is part of the FFC—highlighted the January ruling from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that said Israel is plausibly committing genocide in Gaza.
"While our governments fail to lead in these urgently required humanitarian responses, people of conscience and our grassroots organizations must act to take leadership."
While the South Africa-led case is ongoing, the United Nations court directed Israel to prevent genocidal acts and allow humanitarian aid into Gaza—an order the ICJ reiterated last week, noting the "the spread of famine and starvation."
"The International Court of Justice's preliminary measures ordered against Israel are very clear," Moola said. "The court's ruling requires the whole world to play their part to stop the genocide unfolding in Gaza, including unobstructed access to vital aid."
"While our governments fail to lead in these urgently required humanitarian responses, people of conscience and our grassroots organizations must act to take leadership," Moola asserted. "When governments fail, we sail!"
The top international funder of the Israeli assault on Gaza is the U.S. government, which gives the country nearly $4 billion in annual military support. Since October 7, the Biden administration has sought billions more while also repeatedly bypassing Congress to send more weapons to Israeli forces.
As the death toll in Gaza has soared, U.S. President Joe Biden has urged Israel's leaders to precisely target Hamas militants while also refusing to cut off armed assistance, despite pressure from Americans and people worldwide. In a Thursday call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Biden reportedly threatened to condition future military support. Shortly after that, Israeli officials approved reopening the Erez crossing to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
"President Biden waited six months, waited until 33,000 had been killed, mostly women and children, before picking up the phone and demanding that Netanyahu reduce civilian harm, allow more aid in, and protect aid workers," said Ann Wright, a retired U.S. Army colonel and State Department official who is now with the women-led peace group CodePink, in a statement Friday.
"But even if Israel allows more humanitarian aid in, it is still bombing Gaza with U.S. bombs, shooting innocent people and imprisoning the... people that live in Gaza," she added. "Getting humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza is urgent, but it is not sufficient. We must end Israel's unlawful, deadly blockade as well as Israel's overall control of Gaza. That's why we need this flotilla, filled with unarmed civilians, human rights observers from 30 countries, to challenge Israel’s brutal grip on the Gaza Strip."
"Even if Israel allows more humanitarian aid in, it is still bombing Gaza with U.S. bombs."
Wright plans to join the flotilla later this month, along with CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin.
"I have been walking the halls of Congress every day since October, going to rallies every weekend, writing letters of outrage to President Biden every night—and nothing has worked to stop Israel from murdering thousands upon thousands of innocent people," said Benjamin. "What more can I do? I can go on this flotilla to try to break the criminal siege that Israel has imposed on Gaza."
A Pentagon spokesperson claimed the defense secretary was citing the total number of Palestinians killed by Israel—but the numbers don't add up.
The Pentagon attempted damage control Thursday after U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a congressional hearing that "over 25,000" Palestinian women and children have been killed during Israel's 146-day assault on Gaza.
Austin's remark came in reply to a question from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) during a House Armed Services Committee hearing focused on his recent hospitalization for prostate cancer and his dayslong delay in informing President Joe Biden and members of Congress of his whereabouts.
"About how many Palestinian women and children have been killed by Israel since October 7?" Khanna asked, referring to the date when Israel launched its retaliatory war on Gaza immediately following the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel.
Austin replied, "It's over 25,000."
.@SecDef said over 25,000 women and children had been killed in Palestine.
I pressed him on whether he would support halting weapons sales to Israel if Netanyahu defies the U.S. and invades Rafah or prevents aid from reaching civilians facing starvation in Gaza. pic.twitter.com/Lv8S1DEeoW
— Rep. Ro Khanna (@RepRoKhanna) February 29, 2024
Within hours, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh attempted to walk back her boss' admission, claiming Austin was citing figures by the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health and that the defense secretary was referring to the total number of Palestinians killed in Gaza.
However, Singh's explanation did not add up. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health figures cited by The Times of Israel Thursday, Israeli forces have killed a total of at least 30,189 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7. Of these, at least 13,230 are children and 8,860 are women, for a total of 22,090. Palestinian health officials say that at least 10,000 other people are missing and presumed dead and buried beneath the rubble of bombed buildings, and that even that figure is probably a significant undercount. Assuming even half of the missing people are women and children—who account for 73% of known deaths—then the number of women and children killed far exceeds 25,000.
In late October, U.S. President Joe Biden was accused of genocide denial after he said he had "no confidence" in Palestinian officials' casualty figures—even though such data has been deemed reliable by United Nations agencies, human rights groups, Israeli and international media, and even the Biden administration in past reports on Israeli attacks on Gaza.
In November, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf contradicted Biden by asserting that the Gaza death toll may be "even higher" than reported.
Leaf's assessment came during a congressional hearing interrupted by CodePink peace activists. Members of the women-led anti-war group were again present at Austin's hearing, during which Khanna also noted that the United States has provided 21,000 precision-guided munitions to Israel.
This morning, the House is holding a hearing on the Secretary of Defense's health.
They kicked us out before it even began, including some who weren't even demonstrating.
In what sort of democracy are the public escorted by police out of public hearings? pic.twitter.com/oagf454pNy
— CODEPINK (@codepink) February 29, 2024
"The secretary of defense is supporting a genocide," CodePink co-founder Medea Benjamin said before being removed from the hearing.
Separately on Thursday, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matt Miller responded awkwardly during a press conference when pressed by Palestinian journalist Said Arikat on why "it so difficult for this government to say we condemn the killing of Palestinian women and children."
*Heated exchange* State Department spox Matt Miller unable to condemn Israel's killing; blames Hamas: "Why is it so difficult for this government to say we condemn the killing of Palestinian women & children, why don't you say the word condemn?"
"We don't wanna see anyone… https://t.co/qMArzH8Dyi pic.twitter.com/WYmCAF0Pan
— HalalFlow (@halalflow) February 29, 2024
"We don't wanna see anyone die," Miller answered during a four-minute exchange with Arikat in which the spokesperson refused to say the word "condemn" and blamed Hamas for the more than 100,000 Palestinians killed or maimed by U.S.-backed Israeli forces.