President Joe Biden said he is “heartbroken” by the “many thousands of civilians, including children” who have been killed during Israel’s ground invasion in Gaza in an Op-Ed published Saturday in The Washington Post in which he gave an update on the war and argued against a ceasefire. The president’s comment marked a shift from his stance last month when he scoffed at the death toll reported by the Gaza Health Ministry, saying at the time that “I’m sure innocents have been killed and it’s the price of waging a war.” Biden argued in his Op-Ed a ceasefire would only help Hamas and that any outcome of the war that left them in power would be unacceptable. He detailed direct actions the United States is taking, including “working hour by hour, doing everything we can to get the hostages released,” and “issuing visa bans against extremists attacking civilians in the West Bank,” adding that “Every step we take toward that future is progress that makes the world safer and the United States of America more secure.”
