On July 12th, President Joe Biden filmed what may be his most candid conversation on his support for Israel since the October 7th attack by Hamas and the following 10-month military campaign by the United States ally that has killed over 38,000 Palestinians.
In a taped interview with Complex Networks’ Speedy Morman, Biden began by saying much of what one would expect in response to questions about the war. But then, when prodded further, the president claimed that he had “done more for the Palestinian community than anybody,” in part because his government only provides Israel with “defensive weapons” rather than “offensive weapons.”
The day after the interview, on July 13th, the Israeli army bombed a zone of refugees without warning, dropping eight tons of bombs on Al-Mawasi, turning the so-called “safe zone”—a civilian area—into a “smoldering crater,” according to the Wall Street Journal. Eyewitnesses describe the bombs decapitating people and cutting bodies in half.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, at least 90 people were killed in the attack, which Israeli military leaders said was targeting a Hamas commander. It has not been confirmed whether or not the commander, Mohammed Deif, was killed or even present in the camp.
News broke that Biden approved a shipment of 500-pound bombs to Israel two days before the interview, and three days before the Al-Mawasi massacre.
“I denied them offensive weapons, that are usually 2,000-pound bombs,” the president said in his interview. “I made it real clear. They cannot use weapons…that we provide them, to, in fact, use in civilian areas.”
“I’m the guy that’s been able to pull together the Arab states to help,” Biden continued, “to agree to help the Palestinians with food and shelter. I’ve been very supportive of the Palestinians.”