'Netanyahu made promises he did not intend to keep’: Joe Biden on Gaza civilian killings in new memoir

详细摘要

Joe Biden, in his upcoming memoir ‘Promise Me, America’, says Benjamin Netanyahu ignored his pleas to limit civilian deaths in Gaza. | World News

Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly promised to limit civilian casualties in Gaza but failed to honour his assurances, says former US president Joe Biden in his forthcoming memoir.

In the book, Promise Me, America, the 83-year-old writes that he repeatedly raised concerns with Netanyahu over the civilian toll of Israel’s bombardment following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack. Biden says he privately urged the Israeli prime minister to take steps to protect civilians but his pleas fell on deaf ears. The memoir is set to be released on November 17. Its excerpts were published by CNN on Friday.

“I had been calling on Israel to take precautions to reduce civilian suffering since the beginning of the conflict,” Biden writes. “I had expressed these concerns privately in many conversations with Bibi, who acknowledged the damage that these rising casualties were doing to Israel’s image, and to US support for the war."

"But a familiar pattern established itself: He would promise to do more, and then another aggressive action would follow, killing more civilians. When we called them on it, the Israelis always had an explanation or excuse, but the result was the same. Bibi had no qualms about making promises he had no power — or intention — to keep,” Biden writes.

Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people. Israel has since continued to ravage the narrow strip with drones, missiles and bombs. The offensive, labelled a genocide by the United Nations, has killed close to 75,000 Palestinians, including children, according to figures from Gaza's Health Ministry cited by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). Almost the entire population has been displaced, while years-long restrictions on food and humanitarian aid have further worsened conditions in Gaza.

Biden, in his book, also reflects on his decades-long relationship with Netanyahu, saying he became increasingly frustrated with what he viewed as the…

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