Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Biden White House agrees that destroying Hamas as a fighting force is critical to Israel’s security, despite President Biden’s hot mic moment at last week’s State of the Union address where he said a “Come to Jesus” meeting was needed between the two leaders over the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
On Monday, Mr. Netanyahu said he wasn’t familiar with the term “Come to Jesus,” a Christian idiom that refers to a serious conversation that shows someone is on the wrong path. There’s no disagreement if Mr. Biden meant Israel should enable the safe departure of civilians before moving into desperate southern Gaza city of Rafah to continue the fight against Hamas, he said on “Fox & Friends.”
“We don’t need any prompting,” the prime minister said. “We’re going to do what is necessary to minimize civilian casualties [and] do the humanitarian aid — something that we believe in — but we have to destroy this terrorist, Nazi army, otherwise there’s no future for anyone.”
Mr. Biden has backed Israel’s nearly six-month-long war against Hamas, despite considerable pressure from his own Democratic progressive wing. Still, he has increasingly expressed frustration with the Israeli leader, saying Mr. Netanyahu’s government hasn’t done enough to alleviate the suffering of civilians in the Gaza Strip.
“We have our agreements on the basic goals, but we also have disagreements on how to achieve them. But ultimately, I’m the prime minister of Israel and I’m responsible for the security and future of the Jewish state,” Mr. Netanyahu said.
The Associated Press reported Monday that many Palestinians began fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan with cease-fire talks at a standstill, hunger worsening across the Gaza Strip and no end in sight to the 5-month-old war. Gaza’s Health Ministry said the bodies of 67 people killed by Israeli strikes were brought to hospitals over the past 24 hours, bringing the Palestinian death toll to more than 31,112 since the war began, the news service reported.
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The Biden administration has worked with Qatar and Egypt in a bid to broker a cease-fire ahead of Ramadan period, a deal that would include the release of hostages and prisoners held by both sides and the entry of a large amount of humanitarian aid, but the talks have stalled
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Israel and Hamas to honor the spirit of Ramadan by “silencing the guns” and releasing all the hostages.
“The eyes of the world are watching. The eyes of history are watching. We cannot look away,” he said. “We must act to avoid more preventable deaths. … Desperate civilians need action — immediate action.”
But Mr. Netanyahu contended Monday that the overwhelming majority of Israelis support eradicating Hamas as a terrorist and governing organization in the Gaza enclave and ensuring it can never again pose a threat.
“When people say, ‘Well, we have to have this talk with Netanyahu because he’s holding back the prospect of this wondrous peace for the Palestinian state,’ you don’t have an issue with me, you have an issue with the entire people of Israel,” he said. “They’re really united as never before.”
Mr. Netanyahu said he appreciates the support Israel has received from the Biden administration since Hamas launched its Oct. 7 attack that killed some 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and resulted in more than 250 others taken hostage.
“I can only hope that it will continue to victory because victory is at hand. We’ve destroyed three-quarters of those [Hamas] fighting battalions,” he said. “The best thing we can do for the future of the Middle East and the future of those hostages is to get a speedy victory.”
—This article was based in part on wire service reports.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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