World
Joe Biden twice confuses Gaza with Ukraine as he approves US military aid airdrops
President Joe Biden twice confused Gaza with Ukraine as he announced the US would provide desperately needed aid to the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.
Mr Biden, 81, confirmed on Friday that humanitarian assistance would be airdropped into Gaza – a day after the Hamas-run health ministry said 30,000 Palestinians have died since the war began last October.
“In the coming days, we’re going to join with our friends in Jordan and others who are providing airdrops of additional food and supplies”, the president said, adding the US will “seek to open up other avenues in, including possibly a marine corridor”.
But Mr Biden twice mistakenly referred to airdrops to help Ukraine – leaving White House officials to clarify that he was in fact talking about Gaza.
Pic: Reuters
Mr Biden revealed the development while hosting Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Washington – as he warned “children’s lives are on the line”.
“Aid flowing to Gaza is nowhere nearly enough,” he said.
“Now, it’s nowhere nearly enough. Innocent lives are on the line and children’s lives are on the line.
“We won’t stand by until we get more aid in there. We should be getting hundreds of trucks in, not just several.”
Mr Biden also said he hoped there would be a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas by the time of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month which is expected to start on 10 March.
He told reporters: “We’re still working real hard at it. We’re not there yet.”
He said all sides have to agree on timing but that “they’re still far apart”.
President Biden hosted Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at the White House on Friday. Pic: Reuters
Mr Biden’s promise of airdrops came a day after dozens of Palestinians perished during a deadly aid truck incident in Gaza City.
At least 115 Palestinians were killed and more than 750 others were injured, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, on Thursday.
Witnesses said nearby Israeli troops opened fire as huge crowds raced to pull goods off an aid convoy.
Israel said many of the dead were trampled in a stampede linked to the chaos – and that its troops fired at some people in the crowd who they believed moved towards them in a threatening way.
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IDF: Aid convoy incident in Gaza is a tragedy
On Friday evening, the UK joined demands for an investigation into the killings, described by Foreign Secretary David Cameron as “horrific”.
Lord Cameron said there must be “an urgent investigation and accountability” – amid growing international calls for a probe into the episode.
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Analysis of the deadly Gaza aid truck incident
“This must not happen again,” he said.
While he did not directly blame Israel, he linked the deaths to the lack of aid being allowed into Gaza.
“We can’t separate what happened yesterday from the inadequate aid supplies,” Lord Cameron said.
“In February, only half the number of trucks crossed into Gaza that did in January. This is simply unacceptable.
“Israel has an obligation to ensure that significantly more humanitarian aid reaches the people of Gaza.”
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French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his “strongest condemnation” for the shootings and called for “truth, justice and respect for international law” in a post on X.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned the incident on the social media platform, writing: “The desperate civilians in Gaza need urgent help, including those in the north where the UN has not been able to deliver aid in more than a week.”