The New York Times reports:
President Biden warned Israel in an interview aired on Sunday not to reoccupy Gaza, his first significant public effort to restrain America’s ally in the wake of the Hamas assault that killed more than 1,300 people, including at least 29 Americans.
Mr. Biden has offered staunch support for Israel since the Oct. 7 attack and refused to criticize Israel for its retaliatory siege of Gaza, the coastal enclave controlled by Hamas, even as U.N. officials have warned of a humanitarian crisis there. But in the new interview, he cautioned against a full-scale occupation of Gaza.
“I think it’d be a big mistake,” Mr. Biden told “60 Minutes” on CBS in a conversation taped on Thursday and aired on Sunday night. “Look, what happened in Gaza, in my view, is Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people. And I think that it would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again.” But “taking out the extremists” there, he added, “is a necessary requirement.”
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Biden warns Israel not to reoccupy Gaza, his first significant public effort to restrain America’s ally in the wake of the Hamas assault that killed more than 1,300 people, including at least 29 Americans. https://t.co/2iK8H1asdi
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) October 15, 2023
Biden told 60 Minutes, the images of the Hamas terrorist attack reminded him of the Holocaust.
“The Jews have been subject to abuse, prejudice, and attempts to wipe them out for, oh, God, over a thousand years.” https://t.co/AWOssO2x47 pic.twitter.com/Gmy8u6WU3e
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 15, 2023
“Imagine what happens if we, in fact, unite all of Europe and Putin is finally put down where he cannot cause the kind of trouble he’s been causing. We have enormous opportunities, enormous opportunities to make it a better world,” says Pres. Biden. https://t.co/NakBb9v5NQ pic.twitter.com/OosHJgVAxM
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 15, 2023
“Are the wars in Israel and Ukraine more than the United States can take on at the same time?” Scott Pelley asks President Biden.
60 Minutes, tonight. https://t.co/mEN4CWeXMW pic.twitter.com/b3FC9yQiVE
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) October 15, 2023