Biden Kecam Bencana Humani Akibat Serangan Israel Di Gaza Serangan Israel Di Gaza

DOC UNRWA

JAKARTA - United States President Joe Biden acknowledged the major humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip occurred as a result of an Israeli attack on the area and stressed it must be stopped.

In a statement believed to be his hardest criticism of his allied state, Biden believes that Israel's actions in Gaza are "outrageous."

"Very many innocent people are starving, very many innocent people are suffering and dying, and this must stop," Biden said.

The US president said that despite the heated diplomatic situation, his party had had a dialogue with the governments of Egypt, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia to ensure as much humanitarian aid as possible entered Gaza.

Negotiations aimed at reaching an agreement to release hostages in retaliation for an extended war stop are also still ongoing.

Israel said about 1,200 of its citizens were killed and 250 others held hostage by Hamas who raided Israel's borders in the October 7 attack. Israel estimates that currently there are still around 130 hostages from the organization.

Meanwhile, the number of Palestinians killed as a result of Israeli attacks on Gaza has nearly reached 30 thousand people, and most of them are women and children.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was visiting the Middle East on Wednesday (7/2), said Hamas' response to the outline of the proposed deal hoped that an agreement could be reached.

Biden said Blinken continued to "work tirelessly" in order to realize an initial agreement that could ensure the end of a sustainable war in the Gaza Strip.

Moreover, the United Nations (UN) said the Israeli invasion caused 85 percent of Gaza's population to be expelled from their homes, 60 percent of Gaza's infrastructure was damaged and destroyed, and caused a shortage of food, clean water, and acute medicines.

In addition, more than one million Gazans fled in Rafah City in the southern Gaza Strip bordering Egypt. However, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu plans to continue the war to Rafah City.

US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Wednesday that Netanyahu's plan would bring disaster to the Palestinian people, especially those displaced in Rafah.

"The Israeli military has a special obligation, when carrying out its operations there or elsewhere, so that they protect the lives of innocent civilians, especially civilians who fled to southern Gaza due to military operations in the northern part of the area," he said.

"If there is no consideration of protecting that many civilians in Gaza, the current military operation will be a disaster for them, and that is not what we will support," Kirby said as reported by Anadolu.