Biden expresses doubts about Israel’s plan to flood Hamas tunnels

President Joe Biden appeared to express some doubts about Israel’s reported plan to flood Hamas’s tunnel system in Gaza as part of the Israel Defense Forces’ campaign against the terrorist group.

Reports surfaced Tuesday that the Israeli government has started pumping seawater into the tunnel system, both to eliminate its usefulness to Hamas and potentially eliminate any additional targets still hiding below ground.

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Biden, speaking to reporters after bilateral meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, appeared hesitant to fully support the action, as he had done with Israel’s bombing campaigns in Gaza over the past two months.

“There are assertions being made that they’re quite sure there are no hostages in any of these tunnels, but I don’t know that for a fact,” Biden said. “I do know that every civilian death is an absolute tragedy, and Israel has stated its intent, as I said, to match its words, its intent with actions. That’s what I was talking about today.”

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Earlier in the day, Biden told a group of Democratic donors at a fundraiser in Washington that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must “change” as dissent around the world continues to grow in response to Israel’s actions following the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks carried out by Hamas.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan is slated to travel to Israel later this week to meet with his Israeli counterparts. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will also travel to the Middle East in the coming days.