President Joe Biden warned Tuesday that Israel is losing the support of the international community due to its "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza.
The president made the unusually strong remarks while speaking with donors at a fundraiser event.
"Israel's security can rest on the United States, but right now it has more than the United States. It has the European Union, it has Europe, it has most of the world supporting them," President Biden said. "They’re starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place."
President Biden said that while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu likely understands the risks, the same was not necessarily the case for other members of the Israeli government.
President Biden specifically mentioned Itamar Ben-Gvir, who leads a far-right party and serves as minister of national security.
President Biden said he warned that Israel should be careful not to react as the U.S. did following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, or during intense bombing campaigns during World War II.
“That's why all these institutions were set up after World War II, to see that it didn't happen again,” President Biden said. “Don't make the same mistakes we made in 9/11. There's no reason we had to be in a war in Afghanistan. There's no reason we had to do so many things that we did.”
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The president's comments come as National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan prepares to visit Israel in person, where he is expected to speak with Netanyahu and other Israeli officials about the course of the war and plans for ending major combat operations in Gaza.
"The subject of how they are seeing the timetable of this war will certainly be on the agenda for my meetings," Sullivan said recently.
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