Social Issues

'Dehumanising': Biden's dismissal of Palestinian death toll sparks outrage

Just last week, when the Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza released statistics that the death toll was more than 6,500, US President Joe Biden shrugged off those numbers. It has now crossed 9,000.

Ibrahim

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3 Nov 2023

The AMP is outraged that the US is standing by Israel despite its atrocities against innocent Palestinians. / Photo: AFP

US Muslim groups have expressed outrage over President Joe Biden's dismissal of the Palestinian death toll in Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza.

“To hear the president, with all the proof that exists, deny solid numbers of the death toll is dehumanising to us as Palestinian Americans,” said Ayah Ziyadeh, advocacy director at American Muslims for Palestine (AMP).

The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza said over 9,000 Palestinians, including over 6,000 women and children, have been killed by Israeli attacks in the besieged enclave. Over 32,000 others have been injured, while an estimated 1.4 million more have been displaced.

"I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s the price of waging a war," Biden said on October 25.

"(But) I have no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are using."

Ziyadeh said that for Biden to deny the death toll provided by the Palestinian Health Ministry is "disturbing," especially since the UN verified the casualties.

"It makes me feel absolutely disturbed and disgusted, especially for a president who says he stands up for human rights," said Ziyadeh. "It’s like getting stabbed in the back."