WOODSIDE, California: 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 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 — including a three-year-old American child — were freed.
Qatar, where Hamas operates a political office, has been leading mediation between the Islamist militant group and Israeli officials for the release of more than 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 Hamas-ruled Gaza and late last month began an invasion of the enclave, where more than 11,000 people have been killed, around 40 percent 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 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.
“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 and their past “horrific” actions.
“Hamas has already said publicly that they plan on attacking Israel again, like they did before, where they cut babies’ heads off,” Biden said, reviving an assertion he made last month, when he said he had seen images of beheaded babies.
The White House last month clarified that US officials had not seen evidence of this, and said Biden was referring to news reports of such actions. It was not immediately clear if new intelligence had emerged confirming that babies were beheaded.
On Wednesday, Biden said Israel was now bringing in incubators and other equipment to help people, and its soldiers giving doctors, nurses and other staff the opportunity to “get out of harm’s way.”
Israel on Wednesday said its troops found Hamas weapons and combat gear in Al Shifa hospital during a search on Wednesday. Hamas dismissed the announcement as “lies.”
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.
Joe Biden: Only two-state solution would resolve Israel-Palestinian conflict, occupation of Gaza ‘a big mistake’
https://arab.news/8cu9z
Joe Biden: Only two-state solution would resolve Israel-Palestinian conflict, occupation of Gaza ‘a big mistake’
- Biden says doing everything to free hostages in Gaza, but that did not mean he was sending in US military
- Biden says told Netanyahu that he did not believe the war would end until a two-state solution was reached
Zelensky says Ukrainian air force needs to improve as Russian drone barrages take a toll
- Zelensky said Friday he had discussed with his defense minister and the air force commander what new air defense measures Ukraine needs to counter the Russian barrages
- Russia fired 328 drones and seven missiles at Ukraine overnight and in the early morning
KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday described the performance of the air force in parts of the country as “unsatisfactory,” and said that steps are being taken to improve the response to large-scale Russian drone barrages of civilian areas.
The repeated Russian aerial assaults have in recent months focused on Ukraine’s power grid, causing blackouts and disrupting the heating and water supply for families during a bitterly cold winter.
With the war about to enter its fifth year later this month following Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbor, there is no sign of a breakthrough in US-led peace efforts following the latest talks this week.
Further US-brokered meetings between Russian and Ukrainian delegations are planned “in the near future, likely in the United States,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky said Friday he had discussed with his defense minister and the air force commander what new air defense measures Ukraine needs to counter the Russian barrages. He didn’t elaborate on what would be done.
Russia fired 328 drones and seven missiles at Ukraine overnight and in the early morning, the air force said, claiming that air defenses shot down 297 drones.
One person was killed and two others were injured in an overnight Russian attack using drones and powerful glide bombs on the central Dnipropetrovsk region, according to the head of the regional military administration, Oleksandr Hanzha.
A Russian aerial attack on the southern Zaporizhzhia region during early daylight hours injured eight people and damaged 18 apartment blocks, according to regional military administration head Ivan Fedorov.
A dog shelter in the regional capital was also struck, killing 13 dogs, Zaporizhzhia City Council Secretary Rehina Kharchenko said.
Some dogs were rushed to a veterinary clinic, but they could not be saved, she said. Seven other animals were injured and are receiving treatment.
Amid icy conditions in Kyiv, more than 1,200 residential buildings in multiple districts of the capital have had no heating for days due to the Russian bombardment of the power grid, according to Zelensky.
The UK defense ministry said Friday that Ukraine’s electricity network “is experiencing its most acute crisis of the winter.”
Mykola Tromza, an 81-year-old pensioner in Kyiv, said he has had his power restored, but recently went without heating and water at home for a week.
“I touched my nose and by God, it was like an icicle,” Tromza said. He said he ran up and down to keep warm.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 38 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 26 over the Bryansk region.
Bryansk Gov. Alexander Bogomaz said the attack briefly cut power to several villages in the region.
Another Ukrainian nighttime strike damaged power facilities in the Russian city of Belgorod, disrupting electricity distribution, Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Local reports said that Ukrainian missiles hit a power plant and an electrical substation, cutting power to parts of the city.
Fierce fighting has also continued on the front line despite the frigid temperatures.
Ukraine’s Commander in Chief, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said the front line now measures about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) in length along eastern and southern parts of Ukraine.
The increasing technological improvements to drones on both sides mean that the so-called “kill zone” where troops are in greatest danger is now up to 20 kilometers (12 miles) deep, he told reporters on Thursday in comments embargoed until Friday.
