The White House declined Monday to say whether President Biden apologized to prominent Muslim-American leaders for publicly questioning the Palestinian death toll reported by a Hamas-controlled organization.
When asked if Mr. Biden delivered a mea culpa, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said he wouldn’t discuss the president’s private meetings.
During an Oct. 25 meeting with five Muslim American leaders, Mr. Biden apologized for his comments questioning the veracity of the Palestinian death count reported by the Gaza Ministry of Health, which is controlled by Hamas, according to a report.
Mr. Biden told the group that he was “disappointed in myself,” and vowed to “do better,” The Washington Post reported.
The meeting took place one day after Mr. Biden said it wasn’t clear if the casualty figures in Palestine were accurate because Hamas is a terrorist organization.
“I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed,” Mr. Biden said during the press conference. “I’m sure innocents have been killed and it’s a price of waging war.”
More than 14,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in the conflict between Israel and Hamas, including women and children. Israel has suffered more than 1,200 fatalities, most of which were civilians killed when Hamas launched their surprise terrorist attack, according to Israel.
The Muslim-American leaders urged Mr. Biden during the meeting to show more sympathy toward the Palestinians, and he hugged one of the attendees at the end of the meeting, according to The Post.
Mr. Kirby said the president understands the human toll each death has on their surviving family members.
“The right number of civilian casualties is zero. We understand there have been many, many thousands of them. We understand that with each and every one of those data points is a grieving family. The president understands that,” Mr. Kirby said. “That’s why we’re going to continue to urge our Israeli counterparts as they go back — they plan to go back to military operations — that they do it in the most discreet, deliberate, careful, cautious way.”
Mr. Biden has been under relentless pressure from within his own staff to develop a strategy to minimize deaths in Gaza, The Post said. Several top Democrats have also criticized Mr. Biden’s response to the war, and elements of the Democratic Party’s base have been rebelling against the administration’s position.
The president has tried to appease both sides by publicly affirming the U.S.’s support for Israel, but also calling for them to exercise restraint and allow humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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