WASHINGTON, Oct. 25 US President Joe Biden said that does not trust the Palestinian authorities' data on the number of casualties in the Gaza Strip, but does not doubt that civilians are dying there.
«I don't know if the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are being killed. I'm sure that's happening, that's the cost of fighting a war,» he said during a White House press conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
The Associated Press cited on Wednesday data from the Gaza Strip Ministry of Health, according to which more than 5.7 thousand people, including 2.3 thousand children, have become victims of Israeli bombing since October 7.
«Israel should be incredibly careful and focus on going after the guys who are waging this war against Israel. It's not in their interests when that doesn't happen. But I don't have any confidence in the numbers that the Palestinians are running,» — Biden said.
The attack by the ruling Hamas movement in Gaza on military installations and settlements in southern Israel on October 7, according to the Israeli side, claimed the lives of at least 1.4 thousand people, including women, children and the elderly. Israel responds by launching missile and bomb attacks on the Palestinian enclave and preparing for a potentially even bloodier ground invasion to overthrow Hamas.