Biden's initial confidence on Israel gives way to the complexities and casualties of a brutal war

Source: Associated Press

Biden’s initial confidence on Israel gives way to the complexities and casualties of a brutal war

BY ZEKE MILLER
Updated 7:22 AM EST, November 13, 2023

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the early days and hours after the horrific Hamas attack on Israeli civilians on Oct. 7, President Joe Biden spoke with stark declarations and unqualified support for the longtime U.S. ally.

Now, a month on, that unambiguous backing has given way to the complexities and haunting casualties of the war, and the Biden administration is imploring Israel to rein in some of its tactics to ease civilian suffering in Gaza.

As condemnation of the conflict has grown around the world, stoking anti-Israel sentiment, the Democratic president is also confronting the limits of the U.S. ability to direct the outcome — not only about the war, but what comes after it.

“There’s no going back to the status quo as it stood on October the 6th,” Biden said three weeks after the attack. But even if Israel is successful in crippling or eradicating Hamas, there will also need to be a shift in Washington, where successive U.S. administrations have sought to manage the Middle East conflict and where the political will has been lacking to devise ways to end it.

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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/biden-israel-gaza-hamas-middle-east-218beac2a51cc55e5ba439fc986a31e1