Former US President Joe Biden criticises Benjamin Netanyahu for failing to limit civilian casualties in Gaza in his upcoming memoir.
Former US President Joe Biden claims that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeatedly failed to honour assurances to limit civilian casualties in Gaza. According to a report by Hindustan Times, Biden writes in his forthcoming memoir, Promise Me, America, that he privately urged Netanyahu to protect civilians following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, but his pleas were ignored.
Biden describes a pattern where Netanyahu would promise to do more, only for aggressive military actions to follow that killed more civilians. The memoir, which is scheduled for release on November 17, states that Netanyahu had no intention of keeping such promises. Biden also expressed frustration that the Israeli leader failed to act like a statesman to protect Israel's long-term interests.
The military offensive in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of nearly 75,000 Palestinians, according to figures from Gaza's Health Ministry cited by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). The conflict has displaced almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip.
In the book, Biden also defends his decision to run in the 2024 US presidential election and challenges claims regarding his mental fitness. He argues that criticisms of his age and memory, specifically following a report by former special counsel Robert Hur, did not account for the intense international crisis he was managing during his interviews in October 2023.
