State Department Memo Accuses Biden of ‘Spreading Misinformation’ on Gaza War

Palestinians in shock at Khan Yunis Hospital in southern Gaza after Israeli strikes on Monday. (Reuters)
Palestinians in shock at Khan Yunis Hospital in southern Gaza after Israeli strikes on Monday. (Reuters)
TT

State Department Memo Accuses Biden of ‘Spreading Misinformation’ on Gaza War

Palestinians in shock at Khan Yunis Hospital in southern Gaza after Israeli strikes on Monday. (Reuters)
Palestinians in shock at Khan Yunis Hospital in southern Gaza after Israeli strikes on Monday. (Reuters)

A memo signed by 100 State Department and USAID employees accused US President Joe Biden of "spreading misinformation" on the Israel-Hamas war and said that Israel is committing "war crimes" in Gaza, according to a copy obtained by Axios.

According to Arab World Press, the memo said that "we strongly recommend that the US government advocate for the release of hostages by both Hamas and Israel" — citing the "thousands" of Palestinians being held in Israel, including those "without charge."

The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs had prepared a report through which it confirmed the commitment to international law.

The army command said that it has a legal department in the military prosecution, whose task is to approve every Israeli operation in the Gaza Strip and to ensure that it complies with international law.

The government’s legal advisor, Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, sets broad lines for the government to guarantee that it doesn’t violate international law.

One of the prominent stances of the judicial departments is that the war was imposed on Israel, and it is a defense war. The narrative adds that the targeting of civilians is happening because Hamas is using them as human shields.

But the Israeli judicial advisors call on the government not to be reassured by this narrative.

Avichai Mandelblit, the former attorney general of Israel, said that Israel should be more cautious and the fact that Hamas committed war crimes doesn’t necessarily mean that Israel responds the same way.



Mexico President Chides Trump: Mexican America ‘Sounds Nice’

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's comments about renaming the body of water, during a press conference at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in this photo distributed on January 8, 2025. (Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via Reuters)
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's comments about renaming the body of water, during a press conference at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in this photo distributed on January 8, 2025. (Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via Reuters)
TT

Mexico President Chides Trump: Mexican America ‘Sounds Nice’

Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's comments about renaming the body of water, during a press conference at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in this photo distributed on January 8, 2025. (Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via Reuters)
Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum shows a 1661 world map showing the Americas and the Gulf of Mexico in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's comments about renaming the body of water, during a press conference at National Palace in Mexico City, Mexico, in this photo distributed on January 8, 2025. (Presidencia de Mexico/Handout via Reuters)

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum on Wednesday suggested North America including the United States could be renamed "Mexican America" - an historic name used on an early map of the region - in response to US President-elect Donald Trump's pledge to rename the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America."

"Mexican America, that sounds nice," Sheinbaum joked, pointing at the map from 1607 showing an early portrayal of North America.

The president, who has jousted with Trump in recent weeks, used her daily press conference to give a history lesson, flanked by old maps and former culture minister Jose Alfonso Suarez del Real.

"The fact is that Mexican America is recognized since the 17th century... as the name for the whole northern part of the (American) continent," Suarez del Real said, demonstrating the area on the map.

On the Gulf of Mexico, Suarez del Real said the name was internationally recognized and used as a maritime navigational reference going back hundreds of years.

Trump floated the renaming of the body of water which stretches from Florida to Mexico's Cancun in a Tuesday press conference in which he presented a broad expansionist agenda including the possibility of taking control of the Panama Canal and Greenland.

Sheinbaum also said it was not true that Mexico was "run by the cartels" as Trump said. "In Mexico, the people are in charge," she said, adding "we are addressing the security problem."

Despite the back and forth, Sheinbaum reiterated that she expected the two countries to have a positive relationship.

"I think there will be a good relationship," she said. "President Trump has his way of communicating."