WATCH: Biden says he doesn't know if Hamas hostages in Gaza tunnels amid reports of Israeli flooding

President Joe Biden said on Tuesday he didn't know whether hostages taken by Hamas were in harm’s way amid reports that Israel had begun flooding the tunnel system below Gaza.

“There is assertions being made that there … are no hostages in any of these tunnels,” Biden told reporters during a news briefing at the White House. “But I don’t know that for a fact.”

Biden added that “every civilian deaths is an absolute tragedy” and he called on Israel to avoid Palestinian deaths as it continues its assault on Gaza in response to Hamas' Oct. 7 attack in Israel.

“I think that we have made it clear to the Israelis and are aware that the safety of innocent Palestinians is still of great concern. And so the action they’re taking must be consistent with attempting to do everything possible to prevent innocent Palestinian civilians from being being hurt, murdered, killed, lost, etc.,” Biden said.

Biden commented on the Israel-Hamas war during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Washington as he seeks additional support for his country’s efforts to fend off the ongoing Russian invasion. Earlier in the day, Zelenskyy met with both Republican and Democratic congressional leaders.

Biden has asked lawmakers to approve an additional $110 billion U.S. aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other national security priorities. But his plan is at serious risk of collapse in Congress, as Republicans are insisting on linking it to strict U.S.-Mexico border security changes that Democrats don’t support.

Stream your PBS favorites with the PBS app

Find more from PBS NewsHour at

Subscribe to our YouTube channel

Subscribe:

PBS NewsHour podcasts

Newsletters