President Joe Biden said Wednesday he made it clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a two-state solution was the only answer to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, saying Hamas had committed war crimes by deploying weapons in one tunnel under a hospital in Gaza.
“The first war crime Hamas commits is to house its headquarters, its military, under a hospital.” And that is a fact. “This is what happened,” Biden said.
He also noted: “I have made it clear to the Israelis – Bibi and his war cabinet – that in my opinion the only ultimate answer here is a two-state solution.”
Biden said that at this point, Hamas can still store and maintain weapons and technology beneath hospitals in the Gaza Strip. “I don’t think it will end for good until there is a two-state solution.”
He said he was negotiating with Arab nations about next steps.
The president made his remarks at a one-on-one news conference following his summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
President Joe Biden speaks during a press conference after his meeting with China’s President Xi Jinping
A two-state solution is one in which Israel would coexist alongside an independent Palestinian state, but such an idea has eluded American presidents and peacemakers for decades.
Biden has embraced the call to do so if the Hamas-Israel conflict ends and is urging other Middle East nations to support the idea.
Meanwhile, Israeli troops found a command center and weapons and combat equipment belonging to Palestinian Hamas fighters at Gaza’s largest hospital on Wednesday, the Israeli military said.
The IDF raided the Al Shifa hospital complex in Gaza in the early hours of the morning.
In a hospital ward, soldiers “located an operational command center and Hamas technical facilities, indicating that the terrorist organization is using the hospital for terrorist purposes,” the Israeli military said in a statement.
Biden noted at his press conference that his administration had encouraged the IDF to be cautious.
“This is not carpet bombing.” “This is something different,” he said.
“They also bring incubators. “They are bringing other resources into the hospital and giving the doctors – I was told – and the doctors and nurses the opportunity to leave the hospital,” he added.
Biden said he would urge Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to consider a two-state solution
Earlier Wednesday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby declined to question the Israeli military after it deployed troops to Gaza’s largest hospital and claimed it had discovered “terrorist infrastructure” there.
Kirby again said he would not engage in “armchair support” of the Israeli military’s powerful attack on Hamas in Gaza, even while citing U.S. concerns about protecting civilians in Gaza as thousands are estimated to have died in the Israeli bombardment were killed.
He said there was “no expectation” that Israel would outline its military moves in advance, adding: “We have certainly spoken to them about our ongoing concerns about civilian casualties.”
“We don’t want hospitals to be attacked from the air.” We don’t want innocent civilians, patients and medical staff to fall victim to crossfire between Hamas and the Israeli forces. “We believe that hospitals should be protected,” Kirby said, a day after he said U.S. intelligence agencies had indicated that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad had used hospitals to hide military operations and hostages.
He said it was “understandable” that in carrying out orders to destroy Hamas, the IDF wanted to “deprive Hamas of the ability to use such camouflage to feed itself.”
“But that also means they have an additional burden here because this is a hospital, because there are real patients and real doctors and real nurses who have nothing to do with this fight who are being protected as much as possible must.”
He spoke after Israeli troops finally began withdrawing from the beleaguered hospital, where Israel claims Hamas has an underground base.
“I will refrain from armchair support of ongoing military operations for any military that is not the United States,” he said. “We have been very consistent and clear with our Israeli colleagues about the importance of minimizing civilian casualties.”
“We’ve also made it very clear to them that extra caution needs to be taken when it comes to hospitals because there are patients and even pediatric patients and medical staff and this hospital is an active, legitimate hospital that serves the legitimate medical people.” needs of the people of Gaza.’
In this still photo from an Al-Shifa hospital complex taken on November 15, 2023, Israeli soldiers walk through the Al-Shifa hospital complex during their ground operation against Hamas
Palestinians injured in Israeli raids arrive at Nasser Medical Hospital in Khan Yunis, Gaza, November 14, 2023. The White House says Hamas uses tunnels under hospitals for its military
Israeli forces have continued to bomb Gaza for weeks
Israel has long accused Hamas of hiding its forces among civilian targets. Hamas officials said more than 10,000 people have died in the Israeli campaign, although the White House says it cannot confirm the number.
An estimated 1,400 people were killed in Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7.