President Biden on Monday again played into Hamas’ propaganda by calling on Israel only to be “less intrusive,” as if he couldn’t demand that the terrorists stop using innocents as human shields.
“My hope and expectation is that there will be less intrusive action relative to hospitals and we remain in contact with the Israelis,” he postured, later reiterating his call for a “pause to deal with the release of prisoners” and: “Hospitals must be protected.”
His phrasing amounts to a passive-aggressive dig at Israel, suggesting it’s being careless around the Al Shifa hospital complex, when it is striving to minimize civilian casualties — even as Hamas seeks to maximize them.
Again: Setting up military command centers in and around a hospital is a war crime, as is shooting down civilians trying to flee the war zone.
Biden should be calling out Hamas for these atrocities every time he talks about protecting civilians.
And slamming the terrorists for refusing to accept Israel’s offer to get all children out of the hospital and all civilians to safety — and for hoarding for themselves the fuel the hospital needs.
Indeed, all the “pro-Palestine” marchers ought to be carrying signs condemning Hamas for its intentional waste of ordinary Gazans’ lives.
Israel has zero desire for civilian suffering. It’s Hamas that’s abusing innocents, as they are its only line of defense and offense.
The president’s loose talk — driven entirely by his desire to deflect the left-wing anger over his siding with Israel at all — is no way to treat our ally.
If he feels he must publicly caution Israel, so be it. But right after saying Israel needs to be careful, we are watching, the world is watching, his next words should be: We’re watching Hamas, too — it needs to stop forcing civilians to remain in harms’ way.
Of course Hamas won’t listen — but it’s Biden’s moral duty to be clear about who’s really to blame here.