US President Joe Biden on Wednesday said he had made it clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that a two-state solution was the only answer to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict and that occupying Gaza would be “a big mistake.”
Biden said he had told Netanyahu that he did not believe the war would end until a two-state solution was reached.
“I made it clear to Israel that I think it’s a big mistake to for them to occupy Gaza,” he said.
Biden told reporters he was doing everything in his power to free hostages held by the Hamas militant group in Gaza, but that did not mean sending in the US military.
The US president had told reporters this week that his message to the hostages was “Hang in there, we’re coming,” raising questions about what he meant.
Asked to clarify the comment, Biden told a news conference: “What I meant was, I’m doing everything in my power to get you out. Coming to help you, get you out. I don’t mean sending in military in there … I was not talking about the military.”
Biden said he was working on the issue constantly, and would not stop until the hostages were freed.
Qatar, where Hamas operates a political office, has been leading mediation between the militant group and Israeli officials for the release of about 240 hostages. They were taken by militants when they stormed into Israel on Oct. 7. Israel says 1,200 people were killed during the rampage.
Israel then launched an unrelenting bombardment of Gaza and late last month began an armored invasion of the enclave, killing more than 11,000 people, around 4,600 of them children with more buried under the rubble, according to Palestinian officials.
Biden said Hamas was committing war crimes by having its military headquarters under a hospital, repeating a statement made by a White House spokesperson on Tuesday, and he was confident about the US intelligence supporting that “fact.”
He said Israel had gone into Gaza’s biggest hospital, Al Shifa, with a limited number of troops with guns, and was not carpet-bombing the site.
Hamas and doctors at several Gaza hospitals have repeatedly denied the claims. The United Nations estimates that at least 2,300 people – including patients, staff, and those displaced by Israel’s war – were seeking shelter there.
“They were told … we discussed the need for them to be incredibly careful,” Biden said, adding that Israel had an obligation to use as much caution as possible in going after targets.
But he said it was “not realistic” to expect Israel to stop its military actions, given threats by senior Hamas officials that they intended to attack Israel again.
