"What's happening to Palestinians is unbearable": Obama

WASHINGTON DC: In a strong condemnation of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, former US President Barack Obama has said that the conflict is the "century-old stuff" that has now come to the fore and blamed social media for amplifying the divisions, according to the New York Times.

Not only did he condemn the October 7 assault on Israel that killed many innocent Israelis but he also underlined the sufferings of the civilians in Palestine.

In an interview conducted by his former staffers for their podcast, Pod Save America, the former US President said, "I look at this, and I think back, 'What could I have done during my presidency to move this forward, as hard as I tried?' 'But there's a part of me that's still saying, 'Well, was there something else I could have done?'" the New York Times reported.

Barack Obama provided a detailed analysis of the Israel-Gaza war, telling thousands of his former aides that everyone was "complicit to some extent" in the ongoing carnage.

Speaking on Friday to a group of his former staff members in Chicago, according to the New York Times, Obama stated, "This is century-old stuff that's coming to the fore." He held social media accountable for deepening the divisions.

"What Hamas did was horrific, and there's no justification for it," Obama said, adding, "And what is also true is that the occupation and what's happening to Palestinians is unbearable."

"And what is also true is that there is a history of the Jewish people that may be dismissed unless your grandparents, your great-grandparents, or your uncle or your aunt tell you stories about the madness of antisemitism. And what is true is that there are people right now who are dying, who have nothing to do with what Hamas did," the former US President said, according to the New York Times.

"Even what I just said, which sounds very persuasive, still doesn't answer the fact that, all right, how do we prevent kids from being killed today?" he said. Obama strongly urged his former aides to "take in the whole truth" and called for support, saying that it is important to strike a balance when it comes to the Israel-Hamas war.

The conflict in Gaza escalated after the October 7 attack by Hamas, where about 2,500 terrorists breached the border into Israel from the Gaza Strip, leading to casualties and the seizure of hostages.

Israel has characterised its Gaza offensive as targeting Hamas' infrastructure with the goal of eliminating the entire terror group while making efforts to minimise civilian casualties, The Times of Israel reported. Over 9,488 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7.

More than 1,400 people were killed in the Hamas attack on Israel. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently made it clear that Israel would not agree to a ceasefire, drawing parallels to the United States' position after the bombing of Pearl Harbour. He noted that calls for a ceasefire between Israel and Gaza are calls for Israel to surrender to Hamas.

While addressing a press briefing, Netanyahu had said, "I want to make clear Israel's position regarding the ceasefire. Just as the United States would not agree to a ceasefire after the bombing of Pearl Harbour or after the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Israel will not agree to a cessation of hostilities after the horrific attacks of October 7."