Biden urges Israel to get hostages out safely

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he has not directly sought assurances from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel will hold off on an expected ground invasion into Gaza before hostages can be released.

“What I have indicated to him is that if that’s possible, to get these folks out safely, that’s what he should do. It’s their decision,” Biden said at a news conference at the White House. “But I did not demand it. I pointed out to him, if it’s real, it should be done.”

About 10 Americans remain unaccounted for amid the Israel-Hamas war, according to the White House.

Israel has agreed to delay an expected invasion of Gaza for now so that the United States can rush missile defenses to the region to protect U.S. troops there, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing U.S. and Israeli officials.

U.S. officials have so far persuaded Israel to hold off until U.S. air-defense systems can be placed in the region, as early as later this week, the Journal reported.

Israel is also taking into account in its planning the effort to supply humanitarian aid inside Gaza, as well as diplomatic efforts to free hostages held by Hamas terrorists, the news report said.

Threats to the U.S. troops were of paramount concern, it said.

Washington was scrambling to deploy nearly a dozen air defense systems, including for its troops serving in Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the United Arab Emirates, the Journal said.

The U.S. military and other officials believe their forces will be targeted by militant groups once Israel launches its ground invasion of the Hamas-ruled Palestinian territory, according to the report.

Reuters reported on Monday that Washington advised Israel to hold off on a ground assault in the Gaza Strip and is keeping Qatar apprised of those talks as its tries to free more hostages and prepare for a possible wider regional war.

Last week Reuters reported the Pentagon planned to send two Iron Dome missile defense systems to Israel to help it defend itself against inbound missiles, and a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system and additional Patriot air defense missile system battalions to the Middle East.

‘Black day in our history’

Netanyahu said Wednesday he will be held accountable for the bloody Oct. 7 massacre by Hamas militants, but that will only come after Israel’s war against the Islamic terrorist group.

In a nationally televised address Wednesday night, Netanyahu said he was busy plotting a ground invasion of Gaza, though he declined to say when that might happen. He also expressed sorrow over the attack, which killed more than 1,400 Israelis and saw more than 200 others taken captive in Gaza.

“Oct. 7 is a black day in our history,” he said. “We will get to the bottom of what happened on the southern border around Gaza. This debacle will be investigated. Everyone will have to give answers, including me.”

Netanyahu said the decision on when forces would go into Gaza would be taken by the government’s special war cabinet, which includes the leader of one of the centrist opposition parties.

“We have already killed thousands of terrorists and this is only the beginning,” Netanyahu said.

“Simultaneously, we are preparing for a ground invasion. I will not elaborate on when, how or how many. I will also not elaborate on the various calculations we are making, which the public is mostly unaware of and that is how things should be.”

Attacks by ‘extremist settlers’

Biden said that after the conflict comes to an end, Israelis, Palestinians and their partners must work toward a two-state solution.

He also decried increasing attacks on Palestinians by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, saying they must “stop now.”

Biden said the attacks by “extremist settlers” amounted to “pouring gasoline” on the already burning fires in the Middle East since the Hamas attack.

Deadly violence has been surging in the West Bank as the Israeli military pursues Palestinian terrorists in the aftermath of the Hamas attack from Gaza.

Biden again condemned the brutality of the Hamas attack that killed 1,400 Israelis and said that he was convinced that Hamas was driven in part by a desire to undo United States-led efforts to normalize Israeli relations with some of its Arab neighbors, including Saudi Arabia.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry says more than 6,500 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed in retaliatory strikes. Biden said he had doubts about the accuracy of the Hamas death count, but stressed that it was critical for Israel to move carefully in its response to minimize civilian deaths.

“I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging a war,” Biden said. “Israel should be incredibly careful to be sure that they’re focusing on going after the folks that are propagating this war.”