Joe Biden Asking for Israel's War Plans Raises Questions

Eyebrows have been raised as to why the Biden administration has said publicly that the U.S. president will be asking "tough questions" of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a visit to the Middle Eastern nation intended to serve as a show of support.

Joe Biden traveled to Tel Aviv on Wednesday to, as he put it, "stand in solidarity in the face of Hamas's brutal terrorist attack." In addition to speaking with Netanyahu and Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Biden plans to meet with first responders and the families of some of those who have died or been taken hostage amidst the violence that erupted on October 7.

However, in a press gaggle on Air Force One en route to Israel on Tuesday evening, John Kirby, White House National Security spokesperson, told reporters that Biden would be "going to get a sense from the Israelis about the situation on the ground and, more critically, their objectives, their plans, their intentions in the days and weeks ahead.

"And he'll be asking some tough questions. He'll be asking them as a friend—as a true friend of Israel. But he will be asking some questions of them."

Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment on Wednesday.

"'Asking some tough questions' is something you do in private, not in a scene setter for a solidarity mission," Richard Goldberg, a former Trump administration national security chief turned senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies think-tank, wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "What is going on here?"

"Wait! What? I thought this was a solidarity mission," Josh Reinstein, director of the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus and president of the Israel Allies Foundation, posted on X.

Benjamin Weingarten, editor of RealClear Investigations, wrote: "There was an [alleged] Iranian spy ring atop the Biden administration...There's a BDS-backing anti-Israel activist atop [the National Security Council] in intel. Why should Israel share its war plans with this White House?"

Since Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, the Israeli Air Force has conducted an intensive campaign of air strikes targeting militant sites in Gaza, which it says are often placed in civilian areas or buildings.

As of Wednesday, the Gaza Health Ministry said around 2,800 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli assaults, according to the Associated Press, while Israel says more than 1,400 Israelis have been killed, and at least 199 others have been taken hostage.

Israel has indicated it was preparing a much larger offensive in Gaza, which will likely increase the death toll significantly on both sides. on Saturday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was "currently preparing to implement a wide range of operational offensive plans," including coordinated strikes by air, sea and land.

There was a renewed outcry after a rocket blast at a hospital in Gaza on Tuesday night, which local health authority said claimed 500 lives. Hamas attributed blame for the explosion to Israel, accusing it of committing a war crime, while the IDF has said it was likely the result of an Islamic Jihad rocket misfiring.

Biden sided with Israel over the matter, telling Netanyahu in a meeting: "Based on what I've seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you." However, he added that there were "a lot of people out there" who weren't sure what caused the blast.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.