2023-10-16 02:10:00
Any attempt by Israel to re-occupy the Gaza Strip would be a “serious mistake,” said US President Joe Biden in an interview broadcast on Sunday, as Israeli troops prepare for a probable ground offensive once morest Hamas.
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After Hamas’ bloody attack on its territory on October 7, Israel launched retaliation once morest the Palestinian Islamist group with numerous strikes and ordered residents of northern Gaza to move south for a ground intervention.
Interviewed on the show 60 Minutes of the American channel CBS on his possible support for an occupation of Gaza by Israel, Mr. Biden replied: “I think that would be a big mistake.”
Hamas “does not represent all the Palestinian people,” he continued. But “eliminating extremists” is a “necessary measure.”
More than 1,400 people, mostly civilians including children, were killed in Israel in the Hamas attack, according to a latest Israeli report.
Hamas authorities reported at least 2,670 people, including hundreds of children, killed in Israeli strikes.
According to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe” is underway in the Gaza Strip.
The Jewish state first occupied Gaza during the Six-Day War in 1967, and it was not until 2005 that it was fully returned to the Palestinians.
A year later, Israel imposed an air, land and sea blockade on the 362 square kilometer strip of land, which is also bordered by Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.
In 2007, Israel tightened the blockade following Hamas took control of Gaza from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah.
Asked whether Hamas should be completely eliminated, President Biden replied: “Yes, I think so.” “But we need a Palestinian authority. There must be a path to a Palestinian state,” he continued.
The American president said he “does not think it is necessary” for American troops to participate in this war, adding that they would not be sent to Ukraine either.
Israel has “one of the best armies” and the United States will “provide them with everything they need,” he assured.
Washington announced on Sunday the dispatch of a second aircraft carrier to the eastern Mediterranean.
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