President Biden expressed forceful support for Israel on Wednesday and cautioned that the country should do everything in its power to protect civilians but added that their deaths were ultimately “the price of waging a war.”
Offering few caveats, Mr. Biden said Israel had a right and “a responsibility to respond to the slaughter of their people” on Oct. 7, when Hamas invaded Israel in an attack that the Israeli government says killed more than 1,400 civilians and soldiers.
Mr. Biden also cast doubt on claims by Palestinians about the number of civilians who have been killed in Gaza during the past two weeks, a number the Hamas-run health ministry says is more than 6,500 people. In its internal and public reports, the State Department cites the United Nations, which cites the Gaza health ministry.
“I have no notion that Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed,” Mr. Biden said at a news conference in the Rose Garden with Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister. “I’m sure innocents have been killed. And that’s the price of waging a war.”
He added that the “Israelis should be incredibly careful to be sure that they’re focusing on going after the folks that are propagating this war against Israel.”
Mr. Biden’s warnings for Israel were less gentle than they were during an emotional visit to Tel Aviv last week. In those remarks, he urged leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, against repeating the same mistakes the United States made in a fog of rage and grief after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001
But violence and reports of human suffering have only increased in the days since Mr. Biden’s visit. A barrage of Israeli airstrikes against Gaza have threatened to upend an already unsteady Middle East. Officials in the Biden administration have tried to advise Israeli officials against carrying out any major strike against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed Lebanese group, that could draw the United States further into the war.
Mr. Biden, asked about drone strikes against U.S. military personnel in Iraq and Syria in recent days, said that he had warned Iran “that if they continue to move against those troops, we will respond.” And he said that he had not urged Mr. Netanyahu to delay a ground invasion of Gaza to locate and rescue Americans thought to be missing or held hostage by Hamas.
“What I have indicated to him is that if that’s possible to get these folks out safely, that’s what they should do. It’s their decision, but I did not demand it. I pointed out to him, if it’s real, it should be done,” Mr. Biden said of a group of 10 Americans, a number of whom U.S. officials believe are being held by Hamas.
The war overshadowed a state visit in honor of Mr. Albanese that was laden with ceremony and military pomp. In planned remarks, the two made an effort to show that the United States-Australia alliance was about more than just the military might of two countries, and showcased their cooperation on technology and critical minerals.
But given the countries’ close work on the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel, the tumult overseas was a focus of the questions they received in the Rose Garden.
Mr. Albanese came to the United States seeking reassurances that a dysfunctional American Congress could pass legislation that would allow for the shipment of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, as part of an agreement called AUKUS among the United States, Britain and Australia. (The congressional tumult was on full display when a reporter notified both men that a new Republican speaker had finally been installed after 22 days.)
Charles Edel, a senior adviser and the inaugural Australia Chair at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in an interview that congressional lawmakers have also been concerned with the U.S. capacity to build and maintain a naval fleet if parts of the AUKUS agreement include sending ships to Australia.
“The Australians are understandably agitated and want this to move forward,” Mr. Edel said. He added that Mr. Biden’s supplemental budget request, which asks for $3.4 billion to build up the Navy’s submarine fleet and industrial base, has quelled worries among some lawmakers.
In the Rose Garden, Mr. Albanese reiterated his hopes that legislation would be passed this year before announcing that Australia had committed $25 million to assisting humanitarian efforts in Gaza: “We grieve for the loss of every innocent life, whether that be Israeli or Palestinian,” Mr. Albanese said. “In times of crisis, respect for international humanitarian law is paramount.”
Mr. Albanese’s visit came hours after Richard Marles, the deputy prime minister and defense minister of Australia, said on X, formerly Twitter, that his country would deploy additional Australian military personnel to the Middle East, along with military aircraft. In recent months, the Australians have accelerated efforts to supply missiles for the United States and expand joint military cooperation and training between the two countries.
Throughout the day, both leaders seemed to want to project a shoulder-to-shoulder image to the rest of the world. They spoke of the historical work the two countries have done together, including the Australian engineers who helped broadcast the moon landing in 1969 and the armed forces “standing side by side in the Pacific” during World War II, as Mr. Biden said.
At one point, Mr. Albanese invoked the words of Mr. Biden’s late son, Beau, to emphasize the strength of their partnership: “When there’s an Australian with you, they’ll always have your back.” Mr. Biden bowed his head.
Countering China was a substantial topic of discussion in a meeting held earlier Wednesday between the leaders, according to Mr. Biden’s advisers. That included the expansion of a joint military presence in the Pacific islands, such as Papua New Guinea. Mr. Albanese — who is planning to meet with President Xi Jinping of China next month, in part to discuss removing tariffs on Australian wine that China imposed during the pandemic — said that keeping an open dialogue with China was productive for both countries.
