Hamas Sees Biden’s Gaza Aid Plan as ‘ Positive Step’

A senior Hamas official has shared with Newsweek the Palestinian movement’s response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, offering rare approval of a newly announced U.S. plan to provide aid to Gaza while overall condemning Washington’s approach to the group’s ongoing war with Israel.

The plan, unveiled by Biden during his annual speech delivered Thursday evening at the Capitol, would see the U.S. military establish a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza in order to ramp up humanitarian assistance to the war-torn Palestinian territory.

The move comes as international pressure mounts on Israel to do more to ensure essential goods reach the roughly 2.2 million residents of Gaza in the midst of the deadliest-ever conflict to rock the densely populated Mediterranean strip.

Hamas, which sparked the latest confrontation by leading an unprecedented series of attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023, has blamed Israel for failing to allow enough aid into Gaza and has called on the international community to do more.

“Regarding the waterway, it is a positive step,” Hamas spokesperson Bassem Naim told Newsweek, “but the easiest and shortest way is for Israel to open the land crossings and stop attacking Palestinian civilians who gather to obtain aid.”

Naim also criticized the unwavering support for Israel expressed by Biden during the State of the Union address, accusing Washington of direct participation in the war by providing support to Israel and blocking international efforts to reach a ceasefire at the United Nations.

“We consider the United States of America to be a direct partner in the war against our people,” Naim said. “The American administration, starting with the president and the rest of the administration’s members, participated in the Israeli war council, and military and financial support continued, and America also used its veto some four times in the Security Council to protect Israel and obstruct the international will to stop the war.”

The latest U.S. veto came last month, with Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield casting the sole opposing vote on an Algeria-led draft resolution calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities.

The Biden administration has argued that the best way to ensure a ceasefire was through negotiations taking place in Egypt toward an agreement that would include a temporary pause in fighting along with the release of hostages seized by Hamas during the initial October 7 attack. Thomas-Greenfield warned at the time that the U.N. Security Council resolution would jeopardize these talks.

Discussions since appear to have yet again stalled, however, dimming Biden’s hopes for a deal to emerge before the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins Sunday. During his State of the Union address, Biden echoed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his administration in casting the blame on Hamas for standing in the way of an agreement.

“Hamas could end this conflict today by releasing the hostages, laying down arms, and surrendering those responsible for October 7,” Biden said during his speech Thursday.

Naim, however, argued that the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict far predates the current conflict and that “it seems the president, with his old age, forgets history.”

He cited a long list of alleged Israeli abuses since the dawn of the 21st century alone, accusing Israel of killing tens of thousands of Palestinians, arresting two million more, and annexing two-thirds of the West Bank.

As for the failure to reach a ceasefire today, Naim argued that “the one who bears responsibility is Israel and the American administration.” He said that “our demands are logical, fair, and lead to sustainable calm.”

Hamas’ three primary demands, as outlined by Naim, include “a declared comprehensive ceasefire with international guarantees,” “a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip (potentially in stages),” and “the return of the displaced from their home from which they were displaced since October 7.”

“Israel refuses to commit to this and wants to recover the hostages and keep the door open for opening fire once again,” Naim said. “America bears responsibility for the failure because it has the tools to pressure Israel, but instead, it continues to obstruct the international will and use its veto power, as well as financial and military support.”

“It knows that Netanyahu does not want to stop the war for personal and partisan reasons,” he added.

Netanyahu has declared the release of all hostages, the decisive defeat of Hamas, and a plan to prevent any future threat from emerging from Gaza as the three primary goals of the Israel Defense Forces’ current campaign. Referencing these objectives, Netanyahu vowed to press on despite international pressure during a speech delivered at an IDF officers’ graduation ceremony on Thursday.

“Indeed, there is international pressure, and it is increasing,” Netanyahu said. “But it is precisely when the international pressure increases that we must close ranks among ourselves. We must stand together against the attempts to stop the war. We must reject together the desperate attempt to charge the IDF with the responsibility for Hamas’s crimes.”

“It is Hamas that murdered, massacred and raped our brothers and sisters. It is Hamas that abducted our sons and daughters. It is Hamas that is perpetrating war crimes against its people—and ours—on a daily basis,” he added. “And we are fighting these monsters in order to ensure our very existence. Even as we defend ourselves, we are defending the most sacred values of the free world and human society as a whole.”

Reached for comment, the IDF referred Newsweek to Netanyahu’s office, which did not immediately provide a response.

Israeli officials estimate that 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed on October 7 in what Biden referred to in his remarks on Thursday as “a massacre by the terrorist group Hamas.” More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed, the majority being women and children, over this same period, according to health officials in Hamas-led Gaza.

Biden cited both figures during his State of the Union speech, and though he accused Hamas of targeting civilians, he also called on Israel to mitigate harm to civilians.

“Israel has an added burden because Hamas hides and operates among the civilian population, but Israel also has a fundamental responsibility to protect innocent civilians in Gaza,” Biden said. “This war has taken a greater toll on innocent civilians than all previous wars in Gaza combined.”

Naim, for his part, echoed concerns over the deaths of non-combatants in Gaza, but he rejected accusations that Hamas targeted civilians. He cited reports suggesting a number of civilians in Israel may have been accidentally killed by the IDF amid Hamas’ assault, which prompted the Israeli military to open an internal probe last month.

Extensive footage of the October 7 operation shared by Israeli officials and seen by Newsweek appears to show civilians being systematically targeted by Palestinian attackers.

As Hamas and the IDF clash on the ground in Gaza, they continue to battle over the narrative of the war now in its sixth month. And while Biden affirmed on Thursday that “Israel has the right to go after Hamas,” Naim asserted that Hamas was justified in its own campaign.

“In the end, we are a people under occupation,” Naim said, “and we have the right, according to international law, to resist the occupation by all available means, including armed resistance, and we do not need to ask anyone’s permission.”