On Monday, former US President Barack Obama said that some of Israel’s actions in its war against Hamas, like cutting off food and water for Gaza, could “harden Palestinian attitudes for generations” and weaken international support for Israel.
Obama said, in rare comments on an active foreign policy crisis, that any Israeli military approach that ignores the human costs of the battle “could ultimately backfire.”
Obama said, “The Israeli government’s decision to cut off food, water, and electricity to a captive civilian population (in Gaza) threatens not only to worsen a growing humanitarian crisis; it could further harden Palestinian attitudes for generations, erode global support for Israel, play into the hands of Israel’s enemies, and undermine long-term efforts to achieve peace and stability in the region.”
Israel has persistently bombarded Gaza with air strikes since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel left over 1,400 people dead. Israel’s air strikes have killed more than 5,000 Palestinians, Gaza officials say.
Obama condemned Hamas’ invasion and reiterated his backing for Israel’s right to defend itself while warning about risks to civilians in such wars.
It was not clear whether Obama had coordinated his statement with US President Joe Biden, who served as his vice president for eight years.
During his presidency, Obama frequently supported Israel’s right to self-defense at the beginning of conflicts with Palestinian militia group Hamas in Gaza but quickly called for Israeli restraint once Palestinian deaths mounted from airstrikes.
Gaza, a 45 km-long (25-mile) strip of land that is home to 2.3 million people, has been ruled politically since 2007 by Hamas, an Iran-backed group, but encounters a blockade from Israel.
The Obama administration sought but ultimately failed to broker, a peace agreement in negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
Since taking office in early 2021, Biden has not attempted to resume long-stalled talks, saying that leaders on both sides were too intransigent and the climate was not right.
Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a testy relationship when Obama was in office, including when Obama’s administration was negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran.
Biden, as Obama’s vice president, often worked as a mediator between the two men.
In his statement on Monday, Obama admitted that the US had itself “fallen short of our higher values when engaged in war,” particularly after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
