Biden questioned the numbers given by Hamas on the death toll from Israel’s bombing of Gaza
The president of the United States, Joe Biden, cast doubt on the official number of Palestinians killed in Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip, which is controlled by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), which reported more than 6,500 dead, including 2,700 children, since the war started, on October 7. “I am sure that innocent people have died, and this is the price of fighting a war (…) But I do not trust the number used by those Palestinian,” he stated during a press conference with the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese.
Biden added that “the Israelis should be very careful to make sure that they focus on going after the people who are spreading this war against Israel,” but stressed that he had “no idea that the Palestinians are talking actually.”
These statements by Biden come a day after US Security Council spokesman John Kirby and White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre suggested that any information emerging from the Gaza Health Ministry should be treated with the doubt.
However, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported the day before that more than 400 Palestinian children were killed or injured every day by airstrikes by the Israeli Army, which was ready to start on invasion of the Strip. Added to the bombings is the general siege imposed by the Israeli authorities on the enclave, which makes it impossible to access basic goods, such as food, water, medicine or fuel, thus subjecting the population to a an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. UNICEF’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, Adele Khodr, stated at the time that “without humanitarian access, the deaths from the attacks will be the tip of the iceberg.” (Europa Press)
