Barack Obama Staffers Turn on Joe Biden Over Israel

Former staffers of ex-President Barack Obama have come out against Joe Biden's Israel policy, as the country's war with Hamas continues.

On October 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and seizing about 240 hostages, according to the Associated Press. That prompted the Israelis to carry out extensive airstrikes and a ground offensive in Gaza.

Close to 22,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-run territory, cited by the AP, while the Israeli military says 173 soldiers have died since the ground operation began.

Following the attacks, Biden, who recently called himself a Zionist, has faced criticism for reiterating Washington's support of Israel, which has long been an ally of the U.S. He said that Israel has the right to defend itself, proposed $14 billion in aid and provided weapons. He has also resisted calls for a ceasefire.

Despite softening his language, telling a campaign event in December that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is "starting to lose support" because of the mounting death toll in Gaza, the Democrat has been hit with negative polling from young people disapproving of how he is handling the conflict and White House interns have called on him to support a ceasefire.

Now, pressure on the president has increased from within his own party. On X, formerly Twitter, Tommy Vietor, who was Obama's assistant press secretary then special assistant, shared a Mother Jones article about the conflict with an extract which appeared to criticize the mounting death toll in Gaza.

The extract said: "In the early days of the war, Biden underscored the scale of the Hamas attack by saying it was equivalent to 15 9/11s for a nation of Israel's size. The equivalent figure for Gaza, where more than 20,000 people have been killed, is now approaching 900."

Meanwhile Jon Favreau, Obama's former director of speechwriting, shared a post by Democratic strategist Waleed Shahid reporting on Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticizing the U.S., and added: "By all means, let's send this government more money and weapons without delay. What on Earth are we doing here?"

Newsweek contacted representatives for Biden via email and Favreau and Vietor to comment on this story.

It comes as Israel killed Saleh al-Arouri, Hamas' deputy leader, in a drone strike in Beirut.

Meanwhile, former NATO commander James Stavridis warned there is an "uncomfortably high" chance the war will develop into a "wider regional conflict", telling MSNBC he was "extremely worried" by the conflict.