President Biden Calls for Increase in Humanitarian Aid to Gaza, Condemns Reports of “Extremist” Israeli Settlers Targeting Palestinians

At a news conference Wednesday, President Joe Biden expressed strong solidarity with Israel and called for an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza. Biden also condemned reports of “extremist” Israeli settlers in the West Bank targeting Palestinians. The Biden administration is pushing for more aid to get into Gaza and signaling Israel to “pause” its military offensive against Hamas militants, amid concerns that days of heavy bombardment and a siege of the Palestinian enclave are creating a growing humanitarian disaster and raising the risk of a wider conflict.

Queen Rania of Jordan criticized what she called a “glaring double standard” in the Western world’s reaction to the surprise attack launched by the Hamas militant group on Israel as opposed to the suffering of Palestinian civilians killed by Israel’s reprisal airstrikes. In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour broadcast on Tuesday, Rania said the people of Jordan and the Middle East were “shocked” to see that the world sharply condemned the brutal Hamas attack but is standing by amid a humanitarian crisis unfolding in real-time in Gaza.

At the news conference, President Biden said that Israel needs to do “everything in its power to protect innocent civilians” and called for an increase in humanitarian aid to Gaza. The Biden administration is pushing for more aid to get into Gaza and signaling Israel to “pause” its military offensive against Hamas militants, amid concerns that days of heavy bombardment and a siege of the Palestinian enclave are creating a growing humanitarian disaster and raising the risk of a wider conflict.

Queen Rania of Jordan has criticized the Western world’s reaction to the surprise attack launched by the Hamas militant group on Israel and the suffering of Palestinian civilians killed by Israel’s reprisal airstrikes. In an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour broadcast on Tuesday, Rania said the people of Jordan and the Middle East were “shocked” to see that the world sharply condemned the brutal Hamas attack but is standing by amid a humanitarian crisis unfolding in real-time in Gaza. She questioned why it is wrong to kill a family at gunpoint but it is okay to shell them to death.