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Transcript/ScriptBiden Israel Hamas TV
HEADLINE: Biden Faces Tough Balancing Act in Israel-Hamas War
TEASER: As ground invasion of Gaza approaches, the US president must weigh his support for Israel against regional dynamics and demands to protect Palestinian civilians
PUBLISHED: Wednesday, 10/25/2023 at 00:01
BYLINE: Patsy Widakuswara
CONTRIBUTER:
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER:
PRODUCER: Doug Ostrowski
SCRIPT EDITORS: Jepsen, DJ OK, Holly Franko
VIDEO SOURCES: AP, AFP
PLATFORMS: WEB _x_ TV _x_ RADIO _x_
TRT: 2:29
VID APPROVED BY: pcd
TYPE: TVR
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO:))
[[As an Israeli ground invasion on Gaza approaches, President Joe Biden is facing the challenges of balancing unwavering support for America’s closest ally in the Middle East with international demands for more robust protections for civilians in Gaza and Israeli restraint to avoid a broader war in the Middle East. White House Bureau Chief Patsy Widakuswara has this report.]]
((NARRATOR))
As airstrikes in Gaza continue, President Joe Biden has been urging Israel to consider the consequences of what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu calls its “mighty vengeance” on Hamas.
((UPSOUND Reporter: "Mr. President, are you encouraging the Israelis to delay invasion?"))
((President Joe Biden))
"I'm talking to the Israelis."
((NARRATOR))
It’s part of Biden’s push to buy more time to secure delivery of much-needed aid for civilians,
the extraction of several hundred Palestinian Americans trapped in Gaza, and hostage negotiations.
Four hostages, including two Americans, have been released from among the more than 200 people that Israeli officials say were abducted by Hamas
during its coordinated attacks on Israeli soil on October 7 that killed at least 1400 people.
((Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General))
"The attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation."
((NARRATOR))
Those remarks by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres at the U.N. Security Council on Tuesday prompted criticism from
Gilad Erdan, Israeli ambassador to the U.N.
((Gilad Erdan, Israeli Ambassador to the UN))
“The U.N. is failing, and you, Mr. Secretary-General, have lost all morality and impartiality."
((NARRATOR))
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, also at the Security Council on Tuesday, warned Tehran against widening the war as
Israel braces for more attacks from Iran-backed groups, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, that are likely to intensify once Israel begins its ground invasion.
Blinken delivered a forceful defense of Israel's military actions but issued the administration’s strongest urging to Israel so far to “avoid harm to civilians.”
((Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State))
“It means food, water, medicine and other essential humanitarian assistance must be able to flow into Gaza and to the people who need them."
((NARRATOR))
The White House clarifies that the “humanitarian pause” that Blinken called for is not the same as a cease-fire,
which National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says will only benefit Hamas right now.
((John Kirby, National Security Council Spokesman))
"This is war. It is combat. It is bloody. It is ugly. And it's going to be messy, and innocent civilians are going to be hurt going forward.”
((NARRATOR))
Since October 7, Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 5,000 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health,
and displaced more than a million people.
((Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)
in Washington D. C.
Embargo DateOctober 24, 2023 23:01 EDT
Byline
((Patsy Widakuswara, VOA News))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
