WASHINGTON, Oct 27 (Portal) – U.S. President Joe Biden and his team have significantly changed their tone on the Israel-Hamas crisis in recent days, moving from full support for Israel to emphasizing the need to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza to protect against an impending crisis Israeli ground invasion.
Biden has not changed his fundamental belief that Israel has the right and responsibility to defend itself after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants that killed 1,400 people in southern Israel, aides say.
But a rapidly rising Palestinian death toll, the difficulty of freeing hostages held by Hamas and a growing outcry from Arab nations, European allies and some Americans at home have led Biden’s team to call for a humanitarian pause in the face of Israel’s attacks support and focus on obtaining aid to the Palestinians, multiple sources inside and outside the government say.
A White House official said the change in tone was based on “the facts on the ground” in Gaza with a worsening humanitarian crisis and the Biden team’s “discussions with countries around the world.”
Behind the scenes, there was a tug-of-war over the U.S. Embassy between Biden and his advisers, said a former official who is in contact with current officials.
“We have seen some kind of evolution from an unconditional embrace of Israel to something more nuanced,” the former official said.
The government did not expect the number of Palestinian victims to rise as quickly as it has – there are now more than 7,000 dead in Gaza, local officials say – or that the humanitarian situation would deteriorate so quickly, a US official said the condition of remaining anonymous.
“I think the context has clearly changed, not surprisingly, in response to changing circumstances and what appears to be an even greater impending catastrophe should the Israelis push into Gaza with a major military campaign,” said Aaron David Miller, a Middle East expert at Carnegie Foundation for International Peace.
Biden, 80, has advanced in the face of a difficult re-election in 2024, threats from some potential supporters to withhold their votes over his lack of support for the Palestinians and a warning from former President Barack Obama that Israel’s actions could backfire .
Israeli officials and their U.S. backers have privately expressed concern to Portal that the more time that passes since Hamas’s Oct. 7 atrocities, the more the world’s focus will be on the death and destruction caused by Israel’s attack on Gaza.
Biden’s advisers are urging their Israeli counterparts to take more time to carefully consider their exit strategy before a full-scale ground invasion, a US source said.
U.S. officials have warned that it would be a mistake to work out the intricacies of such a strategy “on the fly,” as the U.S. often did in the early stages of the Iraq war, the source added.
U.S. military advisers sent to the region are urging Israeli counterparts to be cautious as any invasion force will encounter difficult combat terrain and a warren of tunnels and booby-trapped buildings, increasing casualties among Israeli soldiers and civilians could increase in the Gaza Strip, a separate source said.
In rare comments on an active foreign policy crisis, Obama, Biden’s Democratic predecessor and former boss, warned this week that Israel’s disruption of food and water supplies to Gaza “could harden Palestinian attitudes for generations.”
The White House did not respond to a question about whether the administration was aligned with Biden’s Democratic predecessor.
PRESSURE OF ARAB LEADERS
When Hamas militants broke out of Gaza and attacked southern Israel on October 7, Biden offered Israel his full support, saying he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that “Israel has the right to defend itself and its people. Stop it.” “
He did not mention the Palestinian people.
Addressing reporters before his departure for the Middle East on October 11, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the ultimate goal of his trip was a strong show of solidarity with Israel, including providing all the military equipment the country needs for self-defense need.
“The United States has Israel’s back,” Blinken said. He didn’t mention humanitarian aid at all.
During Blinken’s six-day trip, the death toll in Gaza from Israeli airstrikes skyrocketed and concerns about food and water grew. Every Arab leader Blinken met in the region urged him to urgently find a solution to the rapidly deteriorating situation in Gaza.
Blinken expressed the concerns of Arab leaders, while others spoke directly to the US president.
The violent anti-Israel protests that followed last week’s explosion at a Palestinian hospital, which both the United States and Israel blamed on Palestinian militants, also worried U.S. officials.
The protests were a reminder of the danger of escalation with any ground attack, U.S. officials said, because they showed how Israel’s opponents could try to use disinformation to foment unrest.
HUMANITARIAN BREAK
The most rapid change in US policy has occurred this week, namely the halting of Israeli attacks on Gaza to allow aid deliveries and people to flee.
Asked on October 23 about international calls for a humanitarian pause, White House security spokesman John Kirby said the United States wanted to ensure that “Israel has the tools it needs to defend itself and against Hamas.” to proceed and that humanitarian aid continues to flow.”
A day later, Kirby and Blinken publicly advocated for it. The postponement followed an appeal from UN Secretary-General António Guterres to protect civilians and increasingly desperate appeals from UN agencies to allow aid.
The US revised its own UN resolution from a focus on Israel’s right to defend itself to include calls for all measures, particularly humanitarian pauses, to allow unhindered humanitarian access to aid.
Biden’s comments on Wednesday contrast with those on October 7 and show a new direction. “Israel must do everything in its power, however difficult it is, to protect innocent civilians,” Biden said at a news conference.
He also offered a rare criticism of Israel’s “extremist settlers” in the West Bank, accusing them of adding gasoline to the fire, and called for “concentrated efforts” once the crisis is over to work toward an agreement that reassures and promises Israel new Palestinian state would exist side by side in peace.
But Biden also expressed skepticism about Palestinian death toll estimates and continued staunch support for Israel. He said at the news conference that he had “no confidence” in the figures the Palestinians used about the deaths in Gaza.
Reporting by Steve Holland, Phil Stewart, Matt Spetalnick, Humeyra Pamuk, Trevor Hunnicutt and Michelle Nichols. Editing by Heather Timmons and Alistair Bell
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