United States President Joe Biden has said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is making a mistake in his handling of the Gaza war and its implications both inside Israel and internationally.
Mr. Biden claimed that it was outrageous for Israel to have targeted a convoy of US food charity World Central Kitchen WCK in Gaza, killing seven aid workers.
In an interview on Tuesday, the U.S President said that” he thinks what pm Netanyahu is doing is a mistake and that he doesn’t agree with his approach and So he’s calling on the Israelis to call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, a total access to all food and medicine going into the country.”
Biden’s comments come as U.S, Qatari and Egyptian mediators seek progress on a truce and hostage release deal that also proposes ramping up aid deliveries to address a worsening hunger crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Israel insists it is not limiting aid and has complied with US and United Nations demands to scale up the deliveries.
The government faces a Wednesday deadline from the country’s Supreme Court to demonstrate it has taken steps to increase the flow of humanitarian goods.
Five non-governmental organizations (NGOs) filed the complaint, accusing Israel of blocking the entry of aid materials and failing to deliver basic requirements to Gazans.
UNRWA, the UN organization for Palestinian refugees, said Tuesday that following warnings of impending starvation, more than 40% of food delivery missions were denied in February and March. It stated that no UNRWA food convoys have been permitted since March.
Humanitarians have accused Israel of using starvation as a method of war in Gaza, where UN experts say 1.1 million people — half the population — are experiencing “catastrophic” food insecurity.
