Israel war: ’What’s happening to Palestinians is unbearable,’ says Barack Obama, ‘how to stop kids from being killed’
Former US President Barack Obama condemned the Israel-Gaza war and blamed social media for deepening the divisions.
Former US President Barack Obama has condemned the Israel-Gaza war, saying the long-standing conflict has now resurfaced, and criticised social media for exacerbating the divisions, reported New York Times.
Barack Obama condemned the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel when dozens of militants breached the border and killed over 1,400 Israelis, taking more than 240 hostages. Barack Obama also underlined the sufferings of the Palestinian civilians in Gaza who were met with aggressive counter-attacks by Israel that killed more than 9,488 Palestinians.
In an interview, Barack Obama said, “I look at this, and I think back, 'What could I have done during my presidency to move this forward, as hard as I tried?' But there's a part of me that's still saying, well, was there something else I could have done?”
Barack Obama said the conflict is “century-old stuff that's coming to the fore,” while speaking with his former staff members in Chicago. He held social media responsible for widening the divisions.
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Also read: Israel-Gaza War: Protests outside Israeli PM Netanyahu's residence, demands for 'bring hostages home now' grow louder
Obama said, “What Hamas did was horrific, and there's no justification for it. And what is also true is that the occupation and what's happening to Palestinians is unbearable."
Obama referred to the holocaust and the gruesome extermination of Jews by Nazis and said, “And what is also true is that there is a history of the Jewish people that may be dismissed unless your grandparents, your great-grandparents, or your uncle or your aunt tell you stories about the madness of antisemitism.”
The former US President further said, “And what is true is that there are people right now who are dying, who have nothing to do with what Hamas did."
Obama said, "Even what I just said, which sounds very persuasive, still doesn't answer the fact that, all right, how do we prevent kids from being killed today?"
Obama strongly called for support and urged his former aides to "take in the whole truth." He stressed that it is important to strike a balance when it comes to the Israel-Hamas war. Obama informed his former aides that everyone was "complicit to some extent" in the ongoing manslaughter.
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Business NewsNewsIsrael war: ’What’s happening to Palestinians is unbearable,’ says Barack Obama, ‘how to stop kids from being killed’
First Published:5 Nov 2023, 02:31 PM IST
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