President Joe Biden on Tuesday reaffirmed his commitment to delivering more humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, who are facing a dire situation amid the ongoing conflict with Israel.
In a statement posted on his X handle, Biden said: “The United States is committed to pulling out every stop to get more aid to those in Gaza who desperately need it. We won’t stand by. We won’t let up.”
Biden’s statement came as the US announced it would airdrop food aid into the Gaza Strip, where an estimated 1.9 million people have been displaced and face acute shortages of food, water and medicine.
The US has also pledged $100 million in additional humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and the West Bank, and has been working with Egypt and Israel to facilitate the movement of aid trucks across the border.
Biden has repeatedly called for an immediate cease-fire between Hamas and Israel, but has faced criticism from some lawmakers and human rights groups for not putting more pressure on Israel to halt its military offensive, which has killed over 29,000 people in Gaza, mostly women and children.
Biden has defended his approach, saying he is pursuing “quiet, intensive diplomacy” to end the violence and support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He has also expressed his unwavering support for Israel’s right to defend itself from Hamas’s rocket attacks.
