- USA warns Israel on risking international support due to “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza.
- Over 18,000 casualties reported, UNGA expected to vote on a ceasefire, and Gaza situation termed “well beyond breakdown.”
The United States has issued a warning, asserting that Israel faces the risk of losing international support due to its “indiscriminate bombing” of civilians of Palestinians in Gaza.
“Israel’s security can rest on the United States, but right now it has more than the United States. It has the European Union, it has Europe, it has most of the world supporting them,” Biden said to donors during a fundraiser on Tuesday.
“They’re starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place,” Biden said.
Since October 7, over 18,000 Palestinians have been killed, and nearly 50,000 others have been wounded in the Israeli assault on Gaza, as reported by Palestinian health officials. Biden, speaking at a political fundraiser, also criticized the Israeli cabinet, referring to it as the “most conservative government in Israel’s history” and suggested a need for change.
The comments from Biden coincided with White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan preparing to travel to Israel for talks with the Israeli war cabinet. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated that Israel had received “full backing” from the U.S. for its ground offensive in Gaza and claimed that Washington had blocked “international pressure to stop the war.”
Biden’s remarks come as the UN General Assembly was expected to vote on a call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The U.S. had vetoed a draft resolution in the Security Council the previous week. Diplomats predicted that the General Assembly resolution would garner greater support than the previous motion.
In Gaza, Israeli shelling targeted both a hospital and a UNWRA school in northern Gaza. The situation in Gaza was described as “well beyond breakdown” by the UN’s human rights chief Volker Turk. Another UN agency reported that 18 percent of Gaza’s infrastructure had been destroyed since the conflict began. Satellite analysis by UNOSAT revealed that nearly 40,000 buildings were destroyed in the enclave, with 80 percent of the damage in northern Gaza.
