Israel has managed to weaken Hamas and should “eliminate” the Palestinian militant group entirely, US President Joe Biden has said.
Biden made the argument during Thursday’s debate with his challenger, former President Donald Trump, hosted by CNN.
“Hamas cannot be allowed to be continued. We continue to send our experts and our intelligence people to how they can get Hamas like we did Bin Laden,” Biden said. “And by the way, they’ve been greatly weakened, Hamas, greatly weakened, and they should be. They should be eliminated.”
Biden claimed that the only thing his government denied Israel, in terms of weapons, were the two-ton bombs that “don’t work very well in populated areas” and “kill a lot of innocent people.” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued otherwise.
Trump took aim at Biden’s narrative that “the only one who wants the war to continue is Hamas,” while Israel has agreed to the ceasefire proposal advanced by Washington.
“He said the only one who wants to keep going is Hamas. Actually, Israel is the one, and you should [let] them go and let them finish the job,” Trump said. “He doesn’t want to do it. He has become like a Palestinian. But, they don’t like him because he is a very bad Palestinian. He is a weak one.”
Biden protested that his government “saved Israel” by intercepting an Iranian drone and missile barrage in April. “We are the biggest producer of support for Israel than anyone in the world,” the incumbent US leader insisted.
Trump has been an outspoken champion of Israel, while in office and since. Meanwhile, the Democrats have struggled to reconcile their policy of supporting the Jewish state and the mounting resentment of Palestinian and Arab Americans among their voter base.
The current conflict was triggered by the October 7 surprise raid by Hamas into southern Israel, in which some 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken captive. Israel responded by blockading Gaza and launching a bombing campaign followed by a ground invasion. Almost 38,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, according to Hamas-run health authorities in the enclave.