US President Joe Biden said Thursday that Israel's response in Gaza to the Oct. 7 onslaught by Hamas is "over the top," and said he was seeking a "sustained pause in the fighting" to help ailing Palestinian civilians.
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"I'm of the view, as you know, that the conduct of the response in the Gaza Strip has been over the top," Biden told reporters at the White House adding that he has also been working toward a deal to normalize Saudi Arabia-Israel relations, increased humanitarian aid for Palestinians and a temporary pause in fighting to allow the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.
Video: Biden calls Egypt's el-Sissi 'president of Mexico' / Credit: Reuters
"I'm pushing very hard now to deal with this hostage ceasefire," Biden said. "There are a lot of innocent people who are starving, a lot of innocent people who are in trouble and dying, and it's gotta stop."
The remarks, some of Biden's sharpest public criticism to date of the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, come as the Democratic president has come under increasing domestic pressure to press Israel to stop fighting.
The White House did not respond to a request to elaborate on Biden's remarks.
In the aftermath of Israel's initial attacks, Biden was criticized for making remarks describing the death of innocent Palestinians as "the price of waging a war."
Israel began its military offensive after Hamas terrorists from Gaza killed 1,200 Israelis and took 253 hostage. Most recently it was announced that 32 of the over remaining 136 hostages remaining in Gaza are dead.
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