Washington DC, US
Reuters
President Joe Biden said he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the two of them were headed for a “come to Jesus” meeting over the issue of getting humanitarian aid into Gaza, according to a video clip posted on Friday.
Biden was recorded making the comment on Thursday night while on Capitol Hill for his State of the Union speech in what appeared to be a further sign of his frustration at dealing with Netanyahu over the issue of Gaza.
US President Joe Biden, left, pauses during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday, 18th October, 2023. PICTURE: Miriam Alster/Pool via Reuters
In the clip, posted on social media by Democratic consultant Sawyer Hackett, Biden can be seen talking to Colorado Democratic Senator Michael Bennett, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Bennett can be heard telling Biden that there was a need to keep pushing Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza.
The United States has been air dropping crates of aid into Gaza and is organizing construction of a temporary pier to allow for maritime deliveries since Israel has slowed truck deliveries.
“I told him, Bibi, and don’t repeat this, but you and I are going to have a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting,” Biden said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. “I’m on a hot mic here. Good. That’s good.”
“Come to Jesus” is an American expression for having a blunt conversation.
Reporters asked Biden about the episode as he departed on Air Force One to Philadelphia.
“I didn’t say that,” he said initially, apparently referring to the fact that the comment was not in the Gaza section of his State of the Union speech.
But when pressed about what he said after the speech, he said: “You guys eavesdropped on me.”
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Meanwhile, the US military carried out its fourth airdrop of aid into Gaza on Friday, a US official told Reuters, amid an unfolding humanitarian catastrophe in the crowded coastal enclave.
The Israeli offensive in Gaza, which is supported by the United States, has displaced most of the enclave’s 2.3 million people and led to critical shortages of food, water and medicine.
The US official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not offer more details on the airdrop, including its location or number of meals delivered.
President Biden, who first announced the airdrop campaign last week, announced on Thursday that the US military will also build a temporary port in the coming weeks on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast to enable delivery of humanitarian aid by sea.
US Air Force members work on the preparation of a humanitarian aid drop for Gaza residents, in this picture released on 5th March, 2024. PICTURE: US Central Command via X/Handout via Reuters/File photo
A Pentagon spokesperson said on Friday that the temporary port system the US is seeking to build to speed up aid to Gaza will take “likely up to 60 days” to complete and involve some 1,000 troops,
Although the massive US military operation will involve both soldiers and sailors, the US military will not be deploying troops ashore – even temporarily to anchor the dock to the beach, said Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder.
Once operational, the port system would allow delivery about 2 million meals to Gazans daily, Ryder said.
By comparison, the US military has delivered a total of about 124,000 meals during four airdrops in the past week. The latest airdrop on Friday delivered about 11,500 meals, the US military said.
It is unclear who would secure the landing site for the port system, and Ryder said only that Washington was working through the details with partner nations including Israel.
The spokesperson said there was no cost estimate yet. He said the US was also talking to NGOs, aid groups and the United Nations on how aid will be delivered.
– With reporting by PHIL STEWART and KANISHKA SINGH
