Joe Biden on Gaza

Joe Biden, throughout his political career and presidency, has maintained a position of strong support for Israel, often framing it through the lens of ensuring Jewish safety. Following the Hamas attack, his core stance was to offer unconditional military and diplomatic backing to Israel’s campaign in Gaza. This support included authorizing continuous arms transfers and consistently vetoing United Nations Security Council proposals that called for a ceasefire. Despite this, the president also expressed sorrow over the extensive humanitarian crisis, the high number of Palestinian civilian casualties, and the destruction across the territory. Critics noted that his public statements sometimes downplayed the death toll, describing it as the expected 'price of waging war,' which contrasted with his acknowledged private counsel to Israeli leadership for restraint.

This dual posture created significant internal and external tension, with advocates accusing him of complicity in war crimes and even genocide due to the continuous flow of US weaponry enabling the offensive. Furthermore, his administration was criticized for undermining UN warnings about mass starvation in Gaza and for failing to enforce US laws that would have suspended arms shipments to allies obstructing humanitarian aid. While some former officials defended the strategy as a necessary 'bear hug' to maintain leverage, the overall effect was described by various critics as a calamitous foreign policy failure that prioritized unconditional support over restraint and humanitarian law.