Biden: "Israel Has the Right to Respond to Hamas"

U.S. President Joe Biden said on the 25th (local time) regarding the war between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas, "Israel has the responsibility and the right to respond to the massacre of its citizens."

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

President Biden made this remark during a joint press conference following a summit with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, stating, "We will ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself against terrorists."

He added, "Hamas hides behind civilians, which places an additional burden on Israel," and said, "That does not reduce the need for Israel to conduct operations in accordance with the laws of war. Israel must do everything possible to protect innocent civilians."

President Biden also noted that it is difficult to return to the situation before Hamas's surprise attack on Israel on October 6. He said, "This means ensuring that Hamas cannot terrorize Israel and use Palestinian civilians as shields," and "it means that once this crisis ends, there must be a vision for the next steps. That is the two-state solution."

The two-state solution refers to a plan to end the conflict between Israel and Palestine by recognizing Palestine as an independent state to coexist with Israel.

Along with this, President Biden addressed the recent collision between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the South China Sea, stating, "The U.S. defense commitment to the Philippines is ironclad," and warned China, which is asserting ambitions in the South China Sea, by saying, "Any attack targeting Philippine aircraft or vessels will trigger the mutual defense treaty between the U.S. and the Philippines."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.