Netanyahu making mistake on Gaza, says Biden

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden has said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Gaza policy is a “mistake” and urged his government to call for a ceasefire.

Mr Biden’s comments were some of his strongest criticism yet of Mr Netanyahu amid growing tensions over the civilian death toll from Israel’s war on Hamas and dire conditions inside Gaza.

“I think what he’s doing is a mistake. I don’t agree with his approach,” Mr Biden told Univision, a US Spanish-language TV network.

The President reiterated that an Israeli drone attack last week that killed seven aid workers in Gaza, and sparked a tense phone call with Mr Netanyahu, was “outrageous”.

“So, what I’m calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into the country,” Mr Biden said.

His remarks on a ceasefire marked a shift from his previous comments, in which he has said the burden lies with Hamas to agree to a truce and hostage release deal.

Mr Biden also stepped up pressure on Israel to let more aid into Gaza, saying he had spoken with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt and they were “prepared to move this food in”. “There’s no excuse to not provide for the medical and the food needs of those people. It should be done now,” he said.

The Israeli army said 468 trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered Gaza on Tuesday, the highest in a single day since the war broke out on October 7.

The army said “468 trucks were inspected and transferred to Gaza today”, adding that more than 1200 lorries loaded with relief materials had entered the territory over the past three days.

“Additionally, 303 packages carrying hundreds and thousands of meals were airdropped over Gaza,” it said.

Mediator Qatar is still awaiting Hamas’s response to the latest plans for a truce and hostage deal following ceasefire talks in Cairo.

In the latest proposal, fighting would stop for six weeks, about 40 female and child hostages would be exchanged for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, and up to 500 aid trucks would enter Gaza per day.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said public remarks from Hamas had been “less than encouraging”.