Malaysian veteran politician and former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Thursday called out U.S. President Joe Biden for his comments about the bombing of Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza, dubbing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Pentagon liars.
Biden said on Wednesday that the hospital blast, which killed hundreds of people, including women and children, was not caused by Israeli airstrikes.
"Based on what I've seen, it appears that it was done by the other team, not you," Biden said during a news conference with Netanyahu, evidently pointing a finger at Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian group with similar goals to Hamas.
"There's a lot of people out there that are not sure, so we have got to overcome a lot of things," added the president, who arrived in Israel on Wednesday for a hastily arranged visit amid the armed conflict with the Palestinian group Hamas.
Mahathir, Malaysia's longest-serving prime minister, stated in a post on the social media platform X that Biden's narrative is based on feedback from Nethanyahu and the Pentagon.
"Obviously Nethanyahu lies about everything. And if Biden wants to use Pentagon to give credence to his narrative, we have not forgotten how Pentagon and other American institutions lied about the existence of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) in Iraq," he said.
A more recent lie involves Biden claiming to have seen images of Hamas beheading babies, referring to allegations that Hamas "beheaded babies" in Israel, which later proved false.
"Indeed, the White House had withdrawn the statement, admitting that there was no proof of such a deed. The question is how Biden could blatantly lie in the first place and with a straight face," Mahathir said.
Eekad, a global platform for publishing facts and monitoring fake news, in its latest investigation, discovered evidence pointing to Israel's involvement in the Baptist hospital bombing.
"By conducting a comprehensive analysis of the events and scrutinizing live broadcast footage, surveillance camera recordings, and pictures, Eekad's team has uncovered evidence pointing to Israel's culpability in this tragedy, supported by concrete proof, " it said in a post on X on Thursday.
Eekad added that Tel Aviv quickly disavowed its involvement, attempting to distort the narrative by linking the incident to Hamas.
Mahathir said there should not be any doubt that the hospital bombing was caused by an Israeli airstrike, as the "murderous" regime has been attempting to wipe Palestinians and Gaza out of existence since last week.
He said "all these" atrocities committed by Israel against Palestinians stem from the American support for Tel Aviv.
If Washington, he observed, withdraws its support for Tel Aviv and stops all military aid to the regime, Israel will no longer be able to carry out "genocide and mass murders of Palestinians with impunity."
"The US government needs to come clean and tell the truth. Israel and its IDF are the terrorists. The United States is blatantly supporting terrorists. So what is the United States?" he asked.
The conflict in Gaza, under Israeli bombardment and blockade since Oct. 7, began when Hamas initiated Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, a multi-pronged surprise attack that included a barrage of rocket launches and infiltrations into Israel by land, sea, and air. It said the incursion was in retaliation for the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque and growing violence by Israeli settlers.
The Israeli military then launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
Gaza is experiencing a dire humanitarian crisis, with no electricity, while water, food, fuel, and medical supplies are running out.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" to ease the "epic human suffering."
At least 3,478 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza, while the figure stands at more than 1,400 people in Israel.
