Biden says he has ‘no confidence’ in Gaza death toll

US President Joe Biden said he had “no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using” when asked whether Israel was doing enough to “minimise civilian casualties” in a press conference earlier.

“I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging a war,” Biden told reporters on Wednesday.

“The Israelis should be incredibly careful to be sure that they’re focusing on going after the folks that are propagating this war. And it’s against their interest when that doesn’t happen. But I have no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using,” he added.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says that over 6,500 people have now been killed since 7 October, including more than 2,700 children.

Leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hezbollah meet in Lebanon

Jeremy Bowen

International Editor, reporting from Israel

Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah meets Jihad Secretary General Ziyad al-Nakhalah and deputy leader of Hamas, Sheikh Saleh al-Arouri at an unidentified location
Copyright: Hezbollah Media Office

In the last 24 hours, a photograph has emerged of the leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Lebanon, where they were meeting Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Shia Muslim militia and political movement Hezbollah.

It’s the most powerful body in Lebanon, more powerful than the Lebanese state, and its military wing is backed, trained and armed by Iran.

The Iranians see Hezbollah as a vital part of their strategy of forward defence in the region. It has perhaps 150,000 missiles of different sorts and thousands of trained men, battle-hardened from fighting in the war in Syria on behalf of the Assad regime there.

One of the big fears and dangers of all this is that there could be another war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which is a very powerful force.

I think those groups talk the whole time, to be honest, but they have chosen to make this meeting public – partly to put pressure on Israel and partly because they are facing pressure themselves.

They are facing the criticism that they have been talking about hitting Israel, and now that the opportunity has come along, some say, “Why don’t you?” I have even heard some Palestinians say, “Hezbollah have let us down.”

However, there have not been many signs that Iran wants this to happen. Deterring Iran and its Lebanese allies is a major reason why the US has already moved one carrier group to the Mediterranean and another one on its way to the Gulf.

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