Chile’s president accuses Israel of war crimes moments after meeting Biden: Gabriel Boric uses White House doorstep to condemn the ‘disproportionate’ Gaza strikes in response to Hamas attack

After sharing a hearty laugh with Joe Biden in the Oval Office, the Chilean president left the White House on Thursday afternoon and condemned the Israeli attacks on Gaza as war crimes.

President Gabriel Boric used the platform of a visit to the White House to tell the world’s media that Biden could not tell him to take sides in the turmoil in the Middle East.

“The number of civilian casualties continues to rise by the day, and with more than 8,000 deaths since the start of Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, we can undoubtedly say that the response has been disproportionate,” he said.

“International humanitarian law is being violated, and what is happening in the Gaza Strip is unacceptable.”

He could hardly have chosen a more symbolic location for his remarks: the doorstep of Israel’s closest ally and largest donor.

Minutes earlier, Boric had laughed with his host, President Joe Biden, as they compared their ages and how they were both chosen

Boric made his comments outside the entrance to the West Wing, where Biden and officials have taken pains to explain their energetic support for the Israeli bombardment and siege of Gaza.

While a growing number of world leaders have turned against the massive military offensive, Biden has made clear he stands with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in its response to a terrorist attack that killed 1,400 people.

Hours earlier, one of its spokesmen, John Kirby, had responded to questions about the killing of Palestinian civilians by describing Hamas’ bloodlust.

And a few minutes earlier, Boric and Biden seemed like the best of friends. They joked quietly about each other’s ages and waxed lyrical about their country’s commitment to democracy.

“The only problem I have with you is you’re too young,” Biden told Boric, who is 37 years old.

“That’s no problem,” Boric replied, as they compared notes about starting their pageant careers at a young age.

But there was a sign of tension afoot. When a reporter asked whether Boric planned to express his concerns about Israel and Gaza, the left-wing leader (who wears a beard and tattoos, but no tie) nodded.

And a day earlier, Chile recalled its ambassador to Israel for consultations on the unfolding crisis in Gaza.

Boric used the West Wing as a backdrop when he condemned Israel in front of the media

A Palestinian man holds the dead body of a child in his arms amid the destruction caused by Israeli attacks on the Al Bureij refugee camp, as Israeli attacks continue on the 27th day in Gaza City

An Israeli airstrike on the Tal Al Hawa neighborhood of Gaza City took place on Thursday

People check the rubble of buildings destroyed during an Israeli attack on the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip

So White House officials may have had an idea of ​​what to expect when their guest arrived Thursday.

After his Oval Office meeting, Boric, who is seen as the vanguard of a new generation of left-wing leaders in South America, stepped onto the north ramp and addressed reporters.

He said he categorically condemned Hamas’ attack on October 7.

But continued: ‘We do not accept being forced to choose between one side or the other. Both these attacks by Hamas, which are unjustifiable and deserve global condemnation, and what Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is doing deserve our strongest condemnation.

“A state’s right to self-defense has limits, and these limits include respecting the lives of innocent civilians, especially children, and international humanitarian law.”

Boric was only 35 when he was elected president after a meteoric rise. He is seen as a new kind of left-wing South American leader

His supporters filled the streets of Santiago after he won the second election in December 2021

Boric began his meteoric rise a decade ago, as a student leading protests demanding better education.

He was elected president two years ago. His manifesto of higher taxes for the rich and better protection for the poor won him more votes than any candidate in history.

Despite his hardline stance on Israel and left-wing positions, U.S. officials see him as the kind of leader with whom they can build an alliance against hardline socialists in the Western Hemisphere.

Boric said he also spoke with Biden about Cuba and Venezuela. He described the importance of working with neighboring countries to ensure that next year’s elections in Venezuela “provide all necessary guarantees.”