Biden officials blast ‘ungrateful’ Netanyahu for claiming US ‘arms embargo’ cost Israeli lives

Biden senior adviser Amos Hochstein: “Netanyahu is both not telling the truth and ungrateful to a president that literally saved Israel at its most vulnerable moment.”

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Amos Hochstein, a senior envoy in the Biden administration, publicly rebuked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the Israeli leader suggested that a US “embargo” on ammunition during the Gaza war contributed to the deaths of Israeli soldiers.

Netanyahu, speaking at a Tuesday press conference, said Israel paid “very heavy prices” in the fighting, noting that while losses are part of war, “at a certain stage, we didn’t have enough ammunition.”

He described troops operating in areas already struck by artillery and air power, only to encounter terrorists still entrenched inside booby-trapped homes.

Hochstein responded on X, rejecting the allegation and defending the scale of American support during the conflict. “After more than $20 billion in military support, the largest in Israel’s history, two aircraft carriers rushed to the region, deterring a massive regional war, defeating Iran missile and drone attacks twice, and defending Israel at its most vulnerable moments, the only acceptable response to President Biden and the American people is thank you,” he wrote.

In comments to Axios shortly afterward, Hochstein accused Netanyahu of misrepresenting the situation. “Netanyahu is both not telling the truth and ungrateful to a president that literally saved Israel at its most vulnerable moment,” he said.

Brett McGurk, another senior Biden aide, echoed the criticism. “That statement by Netanyahu is categorically false,” McGurk told Axios.

He added that Biden left office with a ceasefire in Gaza and hostages returning home, a truce in Lebanon with Hezbollah weakened, and Iran in what he described as its weakest position in decades following two failed missile attacks countered by US deployments and coordinated defenses that damaged Iranian air defenses.

McGurk said Biden’s military assistance to Israel remained consistent throughout the crisis.

Former US Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides also disputed Netanyahu’s account. “He is wrong. Biden’s support for Israel has been rock solid, and he did it at enormous political cost,” Nides told Ynet.