US, Israel Agree On Limited “Life-Saving” Aid To Gaza
By Worthy News’ George Whitten and Stefan J. Bos
TEL AVIV/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that Israel had agreed to let “life-saving” humanitarian aid into Gaza, but the Jewish nation’s government made clear it was limited in scope and would be allowed only to enter from Egypt.
Biden’s announcement came after he said separately on social media platform X that he had asked Israel’s leadership “tough” questions. “I spoke with Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu regarding the situation on the ground, security assistance and humanitarian needs, and information on unaccounted Americans,” Biden wrote on X, the social media site previously known as Twitter.
He added: “I asked tough questions as a friend of Israel. We will continue to deter any actor wanting to widen this conflict.”
In a statement obtained by Worthy News, Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office confirmed that “In light of President Biden’s request, Israel will not prevent humanitarian assistance from Egypt as long as it is only food, water and medicine for the civilian population located in the southern Gaza Strip or which is evacuating to there.”
Additionally, the assistance would only be allowed “as long as these supplies do not reach Hamas,” designated a terrorist organization by Israel and most Western countries. “Any supplies that reach Hamas – will be prevented,” the Prime Minister’s Office warned.
However, it stressed that “the streamlined Security Cabinet unanimously decided” that “Israel will not allow any humanitarian assistance from its territory to the Gaza Strip as long as our captives are not returned.”
Hamas has said that some 250 hostages kidnapped in Israel are being held in Gaza. “Israel demands Red Cross visits with our captives and is working to mobilize broad international support for this demand,” the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office said following the Security Cabinet talks.
MORE GAZA AID
While pledging more military and humanitarian aid to Israel, Biden also announced the U.S. would provide $100 million in funding to help civilians in the Palestinian enclaves of Gaza and the West Bank.
However, the United States on Wednesday vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have called for “humanitarian pauses” in fighting to deliver lifesaving aid to millions in Gaza.
Israel has said it first wants to “destroy Hamas” and urged 1.1 million residents to flee south to avoid civilian casualties.
The failure by the Council to make its first public intervention in the Israel-Gaza crisis followed the rejection of a Russian-backed draft on Monday evening, the UN said.
Yet in remarks expected to be criticized by at least some Israel supporters, Biden urged Israel not to make similar “mistakes” as the United States after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
He warned its citizens not to be consumed by rage over the Hamas assault that killed more than 1,400 people, including babies and toddlers.
In a speech in Tel Aviv, the U.S. president also exclaimed that the Hamas attack brought “back memories of the Holocaust,” also known as the Shoah.
‘ERRANT ROCKET’
He compared Israel’s devastation, the worst atrocity against Jews since the Shoah, to the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States.
Biden also seemed to back Israel’s claims that it wants to avoid civilian casualties among the Palestinian population, noting that an “errant rocket” fired from Gaza caused an explosion last night on a church-run hospital in the enclave.
He said his information was based on U.S. Defense Department sources.
Hamas blamed Israel for the “horrific massacre” that killed “500 people.”
Biden was reminded of war’s seriousness as sirens wailed in several areas, warning of incoming rockets from Gaza.
Following what commentators called “his whirlwind, high-stakes visit to the Middle East,” Biden was heading back to the U.S., leaving a Jewish nation in turmoil.
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