Biden comments on reports that Israel has begun flooding Gaza Strip tunnels with seawater

On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden commented on reports that Israel had begun flooding some tunnels in the Gaza Strip with seawater to destroy the tunnel network, which it claimed was being used by Hamas.

During a press conference with his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky, Biden explained: “Although I heard assurances that there are no hostages currently being held in those tunnels, the administration has not been able to confirm this beyond a reasonable doubt,but I know that every death of a civilian "It is an absolute tragedy."

Biden noted that he held talks with Netanyahu “to focus on protecting civilian lives when possible, even in the wake of the atrocities committed in the October 7 Hamas attack.”

He added: “I think we have made the matter clear to the Israelis and they realize that the measures they take must be consistent with trying to do everything possible to prevent innocent Palestinian civilians from being harmed, killed, lost, etc.,” pointing to “a set of efforts made by his administration to ensure the delivery of aid.” humanitarian aid to Gaza," he also praised Israel and the Arab countries involved in providing aid, including food and fuel.

Biden confirmed that two senior American officials will travel to Israel this week to hold important meetings, namely National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, where he will meet with the Israeli War Cabinet “to reaffirm our commitment to Israel as well as the need to protect civilian lives and ensure the flow of more humanitarian aid and its arrival in Gaza.” for Palestinian civilians,” and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will also travel to the region to “intensify international efforts to protect the free flow of trade through the Red Sea.”

CNN had quoted an American official as saying that “the Israelis informed the United States that they had begun conducting “meticulous tests” to flood some tunnels in the Gaza Strip with seawater “on a limited scale” to see if that would deteriorate the tunnel network on the ground. Wider scope.”

The official continued: The Israelis are still not sure whether this plan will succeed or not, but they have assured the United States that they are keen to test it only in tunnels in which they do not believe there are hostages being held.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office stated earlier that it is believed that 135 hostages are still being held by Hamas.

Earlier this month, the Israeli military claimed to have “destroyed at least 500 tunnel openings in Gaza and located more than 800 of them around the Strip.”

The war on Gaza has entered its 67th day amid  violent clashes and international fears about the worsening humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, as Israeli forces continue to bomb cities and governorates north and south of the Strip.

US Senator Eric Schmidt announced that Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky did not offer anything new during his meeting with the US House of Representatives.

“It's all the same old nonsense, nothing new,” Schmidt said, as reported by the New York Times.

He continued: "We spoke with Zelensky about Ukraine and its borders, but Joe Biden does not participate at all in discussions about our borders. Democrats are not interested in talking about the security of our borders."

Earlier, in his first public speech during his visit to the United States, Zelensky criticized Congress for delaying approval of more aid to Ukraine and again began begging for weapons from Washington.

Zelensky explained that the White House and Congress will talk about "the results we can achieve next year based on this year's achievements."

The Financial Times newspaper reported that  Zelensky's "rosy and optimistic" communications strategy  toward the allies had created a rift inside Ukraine due to  losses among his army's ranks .

Informed sources in  Congress also ruled out that the Republican-controlled US House of Representatives would approve a draft law providing new funding for Ukraine before the end of this year.