TEHRAN- The United States’ unconditional political and military support for Israel has made it complicit in the war crimes that the regime has been committing in the Gaza Strip since October 7.

The U.S. president remains the Israeli premier’s partner in crime as more Palestinians in Gaza are being killed by the weapons that Washington has provided to Tel Aviv. 

Last week, the U.S. Senate advanced a $95 billion aid package that included $35 billion in aid for Israel. 

Nonetheless, Joe Biden has recently sharpened criticism of Benjamin Netanyahu. 

In a Sunday phone call, the U.S. president warned the Israeli premier against launching a ground military offensive in Rafah. The city is packed with more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million population living in squalid conditions who have fled there under Israeli orders.

On Thursday,     Biden also used the phrase “over the top” to describe Israel’s strikes in Gaza which have so far killed more than 28,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children. 

In the meantime, The Washington Post said in an article that Biden and top administration aides “are closer to a breach” with Netanyahu over the Gaza war and no longer consider him “a productive partner who can be influenced even in private.”

Does Biden’s escalating criticism mean that he is angry at Netanyahu for massacring the Palestinian people in Gaza?

Washington’s unwavering support for Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza shows that the regime’s bloodshed in Gaza does not matter to the U.S.

In fact, Biden’s critical approach is part of a U.S. charm offensive with the Palestinians to deal with the predicaments that he is facing at home. 

The U.S. president’s backing of Israel’s assault on Gaza has alienated many voters who helped elect him in 2020.

As the 81-year-old president heads into a reelection campaign, polls show that young voters, people of color, Muslims and Arab Americans strongly disapprove of his handling of Israel’s war on Gaza. 

A January survey also showed that approval ratings for Biden's handling of the war have fallen. It suggested that 50% of Biden voters believe Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians.

Likewise, some of his one-time supporters have begun to organize in key swing states to oppose what they call “Genocide Joe’s” re-election under the slogan “Abandon Biden”. 

Furthermore, Biden is under enormous pressure from the progressive wing of his own party to rein in Netanyahu.

Senator Bernie Sanders is among those who are opposed to sending military aid to Israel.

“No one in Congress should support the Biden administration sending military aid to Israel… Netanyahu’s war machine is responsible for an unprecedented humanitarian disaster,” Sanders said on X.

Netanyahu, however, has vowed to continue the Gaza war to achieve his stated goal of destroying the Hamas resistance group. But his goal will remain elusive and is nothing more than wishful thinking. 

Earlier this month, the former commander of the U.S. Central Command described Israel's success in its objectives in Gaza to date as "very limited".

"They set themselves a goal of removing the political echelon and the military leadership echelon of Hamas when they went in. They have not been successful to date at doing either," General Frank McKenzie told CBS News. 

But, Netanyahu wants to prolong the military offensive in Gaza as a permanent state of war offers him a lifeline. This is because Israeli officials and the public believe he is responsible for the October 7 attack that was carried out by Hamas and must be held to account. 

Even before the October 7 attack, Netanyahu faced growing pressure over corruption charges and controversial judicial reform plans. Demonstrators often hit the streets in Israel to vent their anger at Netanyahu with some protesters calling him “Crime Minister”.

Presently, Netanyahu continues to massacre the Palestinians in Gaza in an attempt to survive his political career. 

 “Mass massacre”

As concerns grow over Israel’s plans to send ground forces into Rafah, the regime carried out fresh airstrikes on the city. 

Dozens of civilians, including women and children who had taken refuge in Rafah, were killed in early Monday strikes. 

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry condemned the strikes in Rafah as “mass massacres”. 

“Israel is officially continuing to target civilians and transfer the war to Rafah to push the population to get displaced under bombardment,” the ministry said in a statement released on X.

It added, “The recent massacres of the occupation are evidence of the validity of international warnings and fears of catastrophic results of the expansion of the war to Rafah.” 

Hamas also denounced Israel’s “massacres” in Rafah as “genocidal”.

“The attacks represent an expansion of the scope of the massacres that Israel is committing… The Nazi occupation army’s attack on the city of Rafah which has claimed the lives of more than a hundred martyrs so far, is considered a continuation of the genocidal war and the attempts at forced displacement it is waging against our Palestinian people,” Hamas added. 

As Israel presses ahead with its air raids in Rafah, aid organizations warn of a bloodbath if the regime launches a ground assault on the city. This is because Palestinians in Rafah are already squeezed up against the Egyptian border and have nowhere else to go.

Critical remarks made by the U.S. and its Western allies will fail to prevent new massacres in the Palestinian territory. 

The international community should take action to put a halt to Israel’s genocidal war instead of paying lip services.