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Former US Ambassador to Israel Accuses Biden of Helping Hamas

President Joe Biden, escorted by Col. Angela Ochoa, commander of the 89th Airlift Wing, arrives to board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Tuesday March 19, 2024, en route to Nevada. (AP)
President Joe Biden, escorted by Col. Angela Ochoa, commander of the 89th Airlift Wing, arrives to board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Tuesday March 19, 2024, en route to Nevada. (AP)
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Former US Ambassador to Israel Accuses Biden of Helping Hamas

President Joe Biden, escorted by Col. Angela Ochoa, commander of the 89th Airlift Wing, arrives to board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Tuesday March 19, 2024, en route to Nevada. (AP)
President Joe Biden, escorted by Col. Angela Ochoa, commander of the 89th Airlift Wing, arrives to board Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Tuesday March 19, 2024, en route to Nevada. (AP)

Former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman strongly criticized President Joe Biden’s handling of Israel, calling it “disgusting” and accusing the administration of “supporting Hamas”.

Speaking to Israel's Channel 14, Friedman noted that no one is paying attention to Biden's statements and actions in the world as much as Hamas’ leader in Gaza Yahya al-Sinwar

It is well known that Hamas cannot militarily defeat Israel, stressed Friedman.

Therefore, the Palestinian group’s hopes are pinned on the US exerting pressure and forcing Israel to stop the war, he explained, adding that this is the worst message Biden could send to Hamas amidst negotiations.

Friedman attributed Biden's policy to “narrow partisan interests,” suggesting it aims to court Arab voters in states like Michigan and Minnesota.

When asked about former President Donald Trump’s potential actions if re-elected president and his approach to the Gaza conflict, Friedman avoided a direct answer.

He emphasized Trump’s likely shift in policy towards Iran, contrasting Biden’s approach, which he criticized for not imposing sanctions effectively.

Friedman anticipated Trump would pursue a tougher stance, expand Abraham Accords agreements, and intensify counterterrorism efforts.

Friedman was Trump’s ambassador to Israel.

Sources in Tel Aviv confirmed that Biden had a tense phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, their first in over a month.

Biden didn’t try to ease tensions, maintaining a confrontational tone and expressing concern about Netanyahu’s actions.

He advised against provoking a confrontation with the US administration.

Biden also told Netanyahu that the US prefers not to invade Rafah and supports efforts to neutralize the Hamas leadership without civilian casualties.

He emphasized the need for a detailed plan for any military action and expressed concern about disrupting negotiations in Doha with a sudden invasion of Rafah.

They agreed to send an Israeli political-security-strategic delegation to clarify Israel’s plans in this regard.

Moreover, Biden requested that the Israeli delegation to Doha be constructive and empowered to facilitate successful negotiations.

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Arab World

Israeli Strikes Kill 15 in Gaza as Hospital in North of the Region Makes Distress Call

Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on November 19, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on November 19, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
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Israeli Strikes Kill 15 in Gaza as Hospital in North of the Region Makes Distress Call

Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on November 19, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)
Palestinians inspect the damage at the site of an Israeli airstrike on the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on November 19, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. (AFP)

Israeli forces killed at least 15 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, including a rescue worker, health officials said, as tanks deepened their incursion in the area and blew up homes, according to residents.

Medics said at least 12 people were killed in an Israeli strike on a house in the area of Jabalia, in northern Gaza, earlier on Wednesday. They said at least 10 people remained missing as rescue operations continued. Another man was killed in tank shelling nearby, they said.

In the Sabra suburb of Gaza City, the Palestinian civil emergency said an Israeli air strike targeted one of their teams during a rescue operation, killing one staff and wounding three others.

The death raised the number of civil emergency service members killed since Oct 7, 2023, to 87, it said.

There was no immediate Israeli comment on the two incidents.

Adding to the challenges facing the healthcare system in north Gaza areas, the civil emergency service said their vehicles were hardly operational because of shortages of fuel and equipment, citing Israel's continued refusal to allow them to bring the needed supplies.

In Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, medics said one man was killed and others wounded in an Israeli air strike on the eastern territory of the city.

Residents in Jabalia, Beit Lahiya, and Beit Hanoun, where the army has operated since early last month, said forces blew up dozens of houses in the three areas, adding to fears Israel was seeking to clear residents to create a buffer zone, something Israel denies.

Israel said it sent forces into the two towns and refugee camp to fight Hamas gunmen launching attacks and to prevent them from regrouping. It said it had killed hundreds of them since Oct 5.

Hamas and the Islamic Jihad armed wing claimed they killed many Israeli soldiers in anti-tank and mortar fire as well as ambushes by explosive devices during the same period.

Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of three medical facilities barely operational in the north of the enclave, said the hospital came under Israeli fire on Tuesday.

"The healthcare system is still operating under extremely harsh conditions. Following the arrest of 45 members of the medical and surgical staff and the denial of entry to a replacement team, we are now losing wounded patients daily who could have survived if resources were available," said Abu Safiya.

"Unfortunately, food and water are not allowed to enter, and not even a single ambulance is permitted access to the north. Yesterday, the hospital was bombed across all its departments without warning, as we were trying to save an injured person in the intensive care unit," he added.

Speaking during a visit to Gaza on Tuesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Hamas would not rule the Palestinian enclave after the war had ended and that Israel had destroyed the group's military capabilities.

Netanyahu also said Israel had not given up trying to locate the 101 remaining hostages believed to be still in the enclave and he offered a $5 million reward for the return of each one.

Qatar, a key ceasefire mediator alongside Egypt, said it informed Hamas and Israel it will stall its mediation efforts unless the two warring parties showed "willingness and seriousness" to reach a deal.

Hamas wants a deal that ends the war, while Netanyahu vowed the war can only end once Hamas is eradicated.

The 2023 attack on Israel, which shattered Israel's aura of invincibility, marked the country's bloodiest day in its history, with 1,200 people killed and over 250 taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.

Israel responded with its most destructive offensive in Gaza, killing nearly 44,000 people and wounding 103,898, according to the Gaza health ministry, and turning the enclave into a wasteland of rubble with millions desperate for food, fuel, water and sanitation.