U.S. President Joe Biden said on Wednesday (October 18) that Washington would provide Israel with everything it needed to defend itself as it wages war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas. US President Joe Biden arrived in Tel Aviv, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, and was received by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
While speaking to PM Netanyahu, US President Joe Biden stated that Hamas was worse than Islamic State for its killings of Israeli civilians in the surprise attack on Oct. 7 which triggered the latest Israel-Palestinian violence.
US President Joe Biden said, “Terrorist group Hamas has slaughtered over 1300 people…including 31 Americans. They have taken scores of people hostage, including children…They have committed atrocities that make ISIS look somewhat more rational.”
PM Netanyahu thanked the US President for his unequivocal support and said, “I’ve seen your support, every day, in the depth and breadth of cooperation that we have had since the beginning of this war. A support that reflects the overwhelming will of the American people.”
Standing in support with Israel’s claim about the blast at a Gaza hospital, US President said he was “sad and outraged” by an explosion at a hospital in the Gaza Strip yesterday and based on what I’ve seen it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you.”
Israel says the blast was caused by a misfired Islamic Jihad rocket. Hamas denies that. The bloodshed there has stoked already fierce anti-Israel protests in the region. President Biden said 31 Americans were among the more than 1,300 Israelis killed in Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack.