President Biden on Tuesday appeared to confuse the Israeli port city of Haifa with the last refuge for civilians in the Gaza Strip — Rafah — in a stunning blunder.
The 81-year-old president made the gaffe when asked in a one-on-one interview with Nexstar Media’s Reshad Hudson about his plan to win back pro-Palestinian voters in the wake of Israel’s war against Hamas.
“I’ve been meeting with them, number one,” Biden said. “Number two, I made it clear that we have to vastly increase the amount of food, water, healthcare going into Gaza.”
“And I made it clear to Israelis – don’t move on Haifa,” he added.
Biden then trailed off, seemingly losing his train of thought or any interest in elaborating on the point.
“It’s just not, I mean, anyway,” the commander-in-chief said.
In recent weeks, Rafah has become the focal point of Israel’s efforts to free Hamas-held hostages and rid the Gaza Strip of members of the terror group.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said that “no force in the world” will stop the Israeli Defense Forces from advancing into Rafah, which has become the Gaza Strip’s most populous town, harboring more than 1 million Palestinian refugees.
Rafah is believed to be the operating site of four of the remaining six Hamas battalions.
Haifa, Israel’s third-largest city and a popular tourist destination, is more than 100 miles north of Rafah.
Numerous social media users mocked Biden over the gaffe.
“I think Israel should accommodate Biden’s demand not to attack Haifa,” former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman wrote on X.
“Think there’s strong likelihood Israel refrains from hitting Haifa,” former New York state Assemblyman Dov Hikind similarly tweeted, calling the error, “seriously embarrassing.”
Several users saw the mistake as a sign that the president – well-known for his frequent gaffes – is in cognitive decline.
An ABC News/Ipsos poll released in February found that 86% of US adults believe Biden – the oldest president in US history – is too old for another term in office.
The White House has insisted that Biden, who would be 86-years-old at the end of a second term, if re-elected, is not in cognitive decline and “doesn’t need” a test to prove it.
