UNITED States president Joe Biden told Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the hospital strike on Gaza seemed to have been “done by the other team”.

“Based on what I’ve seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team, not you,” Biden told Netanyahu shortly after arriving in Tel Aviv yesterday.

A week ago, the US president, referring to reports from Israel about beheaded children and citing several media reports of beheadings, said: “I never really thought that I would see and have confirmed pictures of terrorists beheading children.”

But neither Biden nor the administration had seen pictures or confirmed reports of children or infants beheaded by Hamas.

The White House clarified Biden was repeating claims made by a spokesman for Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

It marks another instance when Biden’s off-script comments, including on Taiwan and Russia, had to be clarified by his staff.

So, was Biden’s “done by the other team” another instance of repeating claims made by Netanyahu? Did the president jump to conclusions, which British Foreign Minister James Cleverly urged him not to do?

Cleverly had said too many people jumped to conclusions around the blast at a hospital in Gaza and called for “cool heads” to prevail.

“Wait for the facts, report them clearly and accurately. Cool heads must prevail,” he wrote on X.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also urged British MPs not to rush to judgments over the blast, after repeatedly being urged by Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, to remind Israel to respect international law.

Sunak said British intelligence was working at pace to analyse evidence and “to get to the bottom” of the blast that killed hundreds of civilians.

Biden’s “done by the other team” opened his visit to Israel where he vowed to show the world the US stood in solidarity with Israelis.

He should have shown solidarity with the civilian population – the thousands of children and women who are victims of the war despite being protected under international law.

It should not be about the “other team” who did it. It should be about “both teams” putting a stop to the massacre. – October 19, 2023.

* Hafiz Hassan reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.