President Biden suggested that Israel’s response to the brutal Oct. 7 attack unleashed by Hamas is giving the group what it wants, arguing that the country can’t continue with this level of violence.
“Hamas unleashed a terrorist attack because they fear nothing more than Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace,” Biden posted Tuesday on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“To continue down the path of terror, violence, killing, and war is to give Hamas what they seek,” the president added. “We can’t do that.”
The Biden administration has issued warnings to Israel that a campaign in the south of the Gaza Strip must not be carried out to the same level of destruction as took place in the northern part of the territory.
The U.S. is proposing that the Israelis agree to “areas of deconfliction” so that United Nations facilities are not subject to military fighting.
Aid groups say that more than 1 million Palestinians in Gaza are displaced from their homes, and some estimate as many as 14,000 people have been killed in the region since Israel launched its war against Hamas — though those numbers have yet to be independently verified.
The president’s post comes during a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, which has been extended to allow for the release of hostages taken by Hamas.
The truce has also opened the door for humanitarian aid to go into Gaza for civilians, with the U.S. delivering more than 54,000 pounds of humanitarian supplies as of Tuesday.
Israel and Hamas exchanged a fifth round of detainees Tuesday, with 12 hostages and 30 Palestinian prisoners released.
Hamas took some 240 hostages into Gaza following an Oct. 7 surprise attack that left at least 1,200 Israeli’s dead. Despite the pause in fighting, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to resume and continue fighting until all of the hostages are freed.