Biden says Palestinian children are ‘crying out for their parents’, vows to get all Americans out of Gaza and urges Israel to protect citizens after refugee camp was bombed for the second day in a row

President Joe Biden spoke Wednesday about the “devastating” images he has seen of children crying for their parents in Gaza, in one of his most emotional warnings as he warned Israel amid its assault on the territory.

He made the comment after the Israeli army attacked a refugee camp for the second day in a row, eliminating what the government said was a key Hamas terror target.

His government has repeatedly spoken publicly about the importance of following the “rules of war” while refusing to comment on individual incidents or tell Israel how to conduct the war after the October 7 Hamas terror attack, even as it prepared on sending billions of new soldiers. .

“We will continue to affirm that Israel has the right – and responsibility – to defend civilians against terror and must do so in a manner that is consistent with international and humanitarian law, but that prioritises the protection of civilians,” Biden said. .

He then went on to describe some of the heartbreaking scenes coming out of Gaza just weeks after 1,400 Israelis were killed in the Hamas attack.

‘We have seen the devastating images from Gaza. Palestinian children cry out for lost parents and parents who reason and write their children’s names on their hands and legs to be identified.’

Then a child in the crowd in the barn at Dutch Creek Farms in Northfield, Minnesota let out a cry of his own.

‘It’s alright. Children are allowed to do that. Don’t worry about it,” Biden joked.

He then asked if it was a boy or a girl who uttered the cry. “I don’t blame her,” he joked, laughing even in the midst of the dark news.

Biden also spoke about the breakthrough in negotiations to finally get some dual citizens out of Gaza, after the White House said those coming out on Wednesday included a “handful” of Americans as part of a broader deal.

“This is the result of intense and urgent American diplomacy with our partners in the region,” Biden said. “I personally spent a lot of time talking to Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel and President Sisi of Egypt and others to make sure that we could open this access for people to get out,” he said.

He thanked partners in the region and mentioned Qatar for its “close cooperation” in the talks. Qatar has provided financial support to Hamas and is hosting former Hamas leaders.

“At the same time, we continue to work to significantly increase the flow of critical humanitarian assistance into Gaza,” Biden said, referring to an earlier breakthrough to get busloads of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

It comes after Israel cut off water and energy supplies as it began its incursions into the area, where Israeli forces are vulnerable to Hamas fighters and a network of kilometers of underground tunnels.

Biden had a mostly uneventful flight to Minnesota, although the same cannot be said of the reporters who followed him there.

A Nighthawk helicopter taking reporters to the farm suffered four loud bangs during takeoff and had to make an unscheduled landing at a public airport after smoke filled the cabin.

The reporters and photographers, including DailyMail.com, following Biden switched to a separate Osprey helicopter and quickly caught up with the president.

The comments came as Biden headed to a Minnesota farm on Wednesday for a trip where he will tout rural investments and which his White House team insists has nothing to do with his new primary challenger who happens to be from the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

Biden’s journey puts him back on the road amid a looming international crisis abroad and an unexpected bump in his path to the Democratic presidential nomination. Last week, Rep. Dean Phillips, who represents the state’s 3rd Congressional District, filed to run against Biden in the New Hampshire primary.

Biden, with more than $71 million in his campaign coffers, might not normally have to face a challenge from a third-term Democrat who has supported much of his policy agenda.

But Biden helped reshuffle the Democratic primary this year, and as a result of New Hampshire’s challenge to Democratic Party calendar rules, his name will not appear on the ballot. That forces his party to organize a letter-writing campaign to avoid the possible humiliation of a loss for Phillips. The state’s primaries are expected to square off against a party-approved calendar that gives South Carolina the opportunity to break tradition and go first.

When asked Tuesday whether the visit had anything to do with Phillips, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre again invoked the Hatch Act as a shield.

“I said this last week, and I’ll say it again: We are very proud – or very happy and grateful – that the Congressman has voted with the President almost 100 percent of the time over the last two years, and I leave it at that, she said.

The Hatch Act restricts political action on government property or on government time.

Instead, Jean-Pierre said the trip was about advancing Biden’s rural agenda — without mentioning that Biden also has a fundraiser planned with a Democratic hedge funder for Minneapolis before his return trip.

“The president says this all the time. He is everyone’s president. Again, I just said this at the top when I was answering this question to one of your colleagues. It doesn’t matter if it’s a red state or a blue state – it doesn’t matter. He is a president for everyone,” she said.

‘So it’s important. It is not the first time he has gone to a rural area to talk to Americans. And so he’s going to do that tomorrow and talk about what he’s done on behalf of this community, but on behalf of Americans across the country,” Jean-Pierre said.

She called Biden a “president for everyone.”

“You know, just as he goes to urban parts of the country and suburban parts of the country, he also visits rural areas of the country,” she said.

Phillips experiences his own problems. Democrats from his state are lining up behind Biden. And Rep. James C. Clyburn (D-South Carolina) accused him of disrespecting the party’s leader by going against the new calendar.

Biden allies aren’t waiting to attack Phillips. Former Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) told it Politics: ‘The reality is that (Phillips’) bizarre attempts to become president in the only state with no delegates and virtually zero support appear to be failing less than a week after launching – and throwing insults at one of its most respected and accomplished members of the state. our party is certainly not going to revive it.’

Biden is expected to announce $5 billion in funding to help rural areas fight climate change.

He is expected to speak at Dutch Creek Farms in the town of Northfield. Its operators growing corn and soybeans, while raising pigs, one of many livestock animals known to contribute to methane emissions. Farms are also doing their best to sequester carbon, the kind of environmental initiative the government is promoting with billions in inflation-reduction legislation.