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US Lawmakers, Jewish World React to Biden’s Threat to Israel to Change US Policy Toward Gaza
US President Joe Biden, left, pauses during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right, to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Oct. 18, 2023. Photo: Miriam Alster/Pool via REUTERS
Members of the US Congress and major Jewish and pro-Israel organizations reacted swiftly to US President Joe Biden’s administration calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and threatening to fundamentally change US policy toward the Jewish state, expressing both outrage and approval at the sharp shift in messaging from Washington.
In a call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, Biden issued his toughest public rebuke of Israel since its war against Hamas began in the fall, warning that US policy moving forward will be determined by whether Israel takes certain actions to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
According to a White House readout, Biden said that “an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians.”
It is unclear whether such a ceasefire is expected to be implemented unilaterally and unconditionally by Israel or come through an agreement with Hamas. Over the past few months, Hamas has rejected all ceasefire offers, while Israel agreed to a deal that would end fighting for six weeks and release 700 Palestinian terrorists from jail, in exchange for 40 hostages seized during Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel.
The readout also noted that Biden “made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers.”
Without such steps, Biden threatened to fundamentally change the US-Israel relationship: “He made clear that US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.”
Likewise, Vice President Kamala Harris told reporters on Thursday: “We will make sure Israel is never left without an ability to defend itself. At the same time, if there are not changes to their approach, it’s very likely we’re going to change our approach.”
Meanwhile, in a press conference in Brussels, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “If we don’t see the changes that we need to see, there will be changes in our own policy.”
Blinken also implied that Israel risks becoming “indistinguishable” from Hamas, a terrorist group committed to the destruction of Israel and the murder of Jews, if it does not do more to protect Palestinian civilians. “If we lose that reverence for human life, we risk becoming indistinguishable from those we confront,” he said.
In response, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) made a sharp break with the Biden administration, arguing that US support for Israel should be unconditional. “In this war against Hamas — no conditions for Israel,” he wrote on X/Twitter.
In this war against Hamas—no conditions for Israel. pic.twitter.com/qCrqHT4pge
— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) April 4, 2024
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) concurred, writing, “It’s Hamas that has rejected a ceasefire — not Israel. Instead of attacking our ally, Joe Biden should demand Hamas release the hostages.”
Without Hamas on board, it is unclear how a bilateral ceasefire would be reached. The only apparent alternative would be a unilateral ceasefire by Israel that would leave Hamas in power and all the hostages in Gaza.
Hamas, which rules Gaza, launched the current war with its invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, when the terrorist group murdered 1,200 people and took 253 others as hostages. Over 100 of those kidnapped were released as part of a temporary ceasefire agreement in November.
Israel responded to the invasion with a military offensive in neighboring Gaza aimed at freeing all the hostages and incapacitating Hamas to the point that it could no longer pose a major threat to the Israeli people. Hamas leaders have pledged to carry out massacres against Israel like the one on Oct. 7 “again and again.”
Some US lawmakers expressed regret at the rising civilian casualty toll in Gaza but noted Israel has gone to great lengths to minimize such casualties while targeting Hamas, which embeds itself in the civilian population and uses civilian sites such as schools and hospitals as its command centers.
“War is chaotic, and urban warfare more so,” Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) wrote in response to Thursday’s events. “I believe that Israel is doing as good a job as can be done and is working hard to avoid civilian casualties. Analysts indicate that Israeli efforts in this area are favorable to US military actions in Fallujah and Mosul. And of course, ISIS forces in Fallujah and Mosul were not firing rockets at the American homeland.”
In a statement to Jewish Insider, Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) said, “Every conceivable effort should be made to minimize casualties and maximize humanitarian aid for Palestinians in distress. But any attempt to fundamentally undermine the US-Israel relationship will only serve to benefit Hamas, which perpetrated the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust — a fact that the world seems to have forgotten.”
Others, however, are supporting Biden in his sharp change of rhetoric. In an interview on CNN, Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said he believes it is “at that point” where conditions on aid to Israel are prudent.
“If Benjamin Netanyahu were to order the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] into Rafah at scale … and make no provision for civilians or for humanitarian aid, I would vote to condition aid to Israel,” he said.
Coons is a long-time supporter of Israel and is considered a moderate Democrat.
Others offered more enthusiastic praise for Biden’s warning to Netanyahu.
“I commend President Biden’s call for an immediate ceasefire and warning to Prime Minister Netanyahu that Israel must change course immediately, and that US policy toward Israel will depend on it,” Rep. John Larson (D-CT) said.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), on the other hand, argued that “calls for an ‘immediate ceasefire’ should be directed exclusively to Hamas.”
“Threatening or conditioning American support for Israel only serves to embolden Hamas and make a deal to pause fighting, free hostages, and surge aid harder to achieve,” the pro-Israel lobbying group added, hinting at the fact that such declarations from the US give Hamas leverage in negotiations.
The American Jewish Congress took a less combative approach.
“We welcome President Biden’s clarity and leadership in protecting America’s interests and in supporting our ally Israel at war while striving to mitigate the inevitable harm that a military conflict does to innocent people on all sides. The president speaks and acts like a true friend of Israel,” the group said in a statement.
“While Israel should hold itself to a higher moral standard, the fact remains that Hamas has methodically delayed negotiations and avoided the decisions that could have ended the war,” the statement continued. “Hamas does not share the American and Israeli concern for the innocent suffering in Gaza.”
The post US Lawmakers, Jewish World React to Biden’s Threat to Israel to Change US Policy Toward Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire
Explosions send smoke into the air in Gaza, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, July 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
The spokesperson for Hamas’s armed wing said on Friday that while the Palestinian terrorist group favors reaching an interim truce in the Gaza war, if such an agreement is not reached in current negotiations it could revert to insisting on a full package deal to end the conflict.
Hamas has previously offered to release all the hostages held in Gaza and conclude a permanent ceasefire agreement, and Israel has refused, Abu Ubaida added in a televised speech.
Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a US-backed proposal for a 60-day truce in the war.
Israeli officials were not immediately available for comment on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement on a call he had with Pope Leo on Friday that Israel‘s efforts to secure a hostage release deal and 60-day ceasefire “have so far not been reciprocated by Hamas.”
As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release a number of detained Palestinians.
“If the enemy remains obstinate and evades this round as it has done every time before, we cannot guarantee a return to partial deals or the proposal of the 10 captives,” said Abu Ubaida.
Disputes remain over maps of Israeli army withdrawals, aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said two Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters on Friday.
The officials said the talks have not reached a breakthrough on the issues under discussion.
Hamas says any agreement must lead to ending the war, while Netanyahu says the war will only end once Hamas is disarmed and its leaders expelled from Gaza.
Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on southern Israel, according to Israeli tallies. Over 250 hostages were kidnapped during Hamas’s Oct. 7 onslaught.
Israel responded with an ongoing military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
The post Hamas Says No Interim Hostage Deal Possible Without Work Toward Permanent Ceasefire first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel
People hold images of the victims of the 1994 bombing attack on the Argentine Israeli Mutual Association (AMIA) community center, marking the 30th anniversary of the attack, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Irina Dambrauskas
Iran on Friday marked the 31st anniversary of the 1994 bombing of the Argentine Israelite Mutual Association (AMIA) Jewish community center in Buenos Aires by slamming Argentina for what it called “baseless” accusations over Tehran’s alleged role in the terrorist attack and accusing Israel of politicizing the atrocity to influence the investigation and judicial process.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the anniversary of Argentina’s deadliest terrorist attack, which killed 85 people and wounded more than 300.
“While completely rejecting the accusations against Iranian citizens, the Islamic Republic of Iran condemns attempts by certain Argentine factions to pressure the judiciary into issuing baseless charges and politically motivated rulings,” the statement read.
“Reaffirming that the charges against its citizens are unfounded, the Islamic Republic of Iran insists on restoring their reputation and calls for an end to this staged legal proceeding,” it continued.
Last month, a federal judge in Argentina ordered the trial in absentia of 10 Iranian and Lebanese nationals suspected of orchestrating the attack in Buenos Aires.
The ten suspects set to stand trial include former Iranian and Lebanese ministers and diplomats, all of whom are subject to international arrest warrants issued by Argentina for their alleged roles in the terrorist attack.
In its statement on Friday, Iran also accused Israel of influencing the investigation to advance a political campaign against the Islamist regime in Tehran, claiming the case has been used to serve Israeli interests and hinder efforts to uncover the truth.
“From the outset, elements and entities linked to the Zionist regime [Israel] exploited this suspicious explosion, pushing the investigation down a false and misleading path, among whose consequences was to disrupt the long‑standing relations between the people of Iran and Argentina,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.
“Clear, undeniable evidence now shows the Zionist regime and its affiliates exerting influence on the Argentine judiciary to frame Iranian nationals,” the statement continued.
In April, lead prosecutor Sebastián Basso — who took over the case after the 2015 murder of his predecessor, Alberto Nisman — requested that federal Judge Daniel Rafecas issue national and international arrest warrants for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei over his alleged involvement in the attack.
Since 2006, Argentine authorities have sought the arrest of eight Iranians — including former president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who died in 2017 — yet more than three decades after the deadly bombing, all suspects remain still at large.
In a post on X, the Delegation of Argentine Israelite Associations (DAIA), the country’s Jewish umbrella organization, released a statement commemorating the 31st anniversary of the bombing.
“It was a brutal attack on Argentina, its democracy, and its rule of law,” the group said. “At DAIA, we continue to demand truth and justice — because impunity is painful, and memory is a commitment to both the present and the future.”
31 años del atentado a la AMIA – DAIA. 31 años sin justicia.
El 18 de julio de 1994, un atentado terrorista dejó 85 personas muertas y más de 300 heridas. Fue un ataque brutal contra la Argentina, su democracia y su Estado de derecho.
Desde la DAIA, seguimos exigiendo verdad y… pic.twitter.com/kV2ReGNTIk
— DAIA (@DAIAArgentina) July 18, 2025
Despite Argentina’s longstanding belief that Lebanon’s Shiite Hezbollah terrorist group carried out the devastating attack at Iran’s request, the 1994 bombing has never been claimed or officially solved.
Meanwhile, Tehran has consistently denied any involvement and refused to arrest or extradite any suspects.
To this day, the decades-long investigation into the terrorist attack has been plagued by allegations of witness tampering, evidence manipulation, cover-ups, and annulled trials.
In 2006, former prosecutor Nisman formally charged Iran for orchestrating the attack and Hezbollah for carrying it out.
Nine years later, he accused former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner — currently under house arrest on corruption charges — of attempting to cover up the crime and block efforts to extradite the suspects behind the AMIA atrocity in return for Iranian oil.
Nisman was killed later that year, and to this day, both his case and murder remain unresolved and under ongoing investigation.
The alleged cover-up was reportedly formalized through the memorandum of understanding signed in 2013 between Kirchner’s government and Iranian authorities, with the stated goal of cooperating to investigate the AMIA bombing.
The post Iran Marks 31st Anniversary of AMIA Bombing by Slamming Argentina’s ‘Baseless’ Accusations, Blaming Israel first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns
Murad Adailah, the head of Jordan’s Muslim Brotherhood, attends an interview with Reuters in Amman, Jordan, Sept. 7, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Jehad Shelbak
The Muslim Brotherhood, one of the Arab world’s oldest and most influential Islamist movements, has been implicated in a wide-ranging network of illegal financial activities in Jordan and abroad, according to a new investigative report.
Investigations conducted by Jordanian authorities — along with evidence gathered from seized materials — revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood raised tens of millions of Jordanian dinars through various illegal activities, the Jordan news agency (Petra) reported this week.
With operations intensifying over the past eight years, the report showed that the group’s complex financial network was funded through various sources, including illegal donations, profits from investments in Jordan and abroad, and monthly fees paid by members inside and outside the country.
The report also indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood has taken advantage of the war in Gaza to raise donations illegally.
Out of all donations meant for Gaza, the group provided no information on where the funds came from, how much was collected, or how they were distributed, and failed to work with any international or relief organizations to manage the transfers properly.
Rather, the investigations revealed that the Islamist network used illicit financial mechanisms to transfer funds abroad.
According to Jordanian authorities, the group gathered more than JD 30 million (around $42 million) over recent years.
With funds transferred to several Arab, regional, and foreign countries, part of the money was allegedly used to finance domestic political campaigns in 2024, as well as illegal activities and cells.
In April, Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, the country’s most vocal opposition group, and confiscated its assets after members of the Islamist movement were found to be linked to a sabotage plot.
The movement’s political arm in Jordan, the Islamic Action Front, became the largest political grouping in parliament after elections last September, although most seats are still held by supporters of the government.
Opponents of the group, which is banned in most Arab countries, label it a terrorist organization. However, the movement claims it renounced violence decades ago and now promotes its Islamist agenda through peaceful means.
The post Jordan Reveals Muslim Brotherhood Operating Vast Illegal Funding Network Tied to Gaza Donations, Political Campaigns first appeared on Algemeiner.com.