Muslim-American leaders told President Joe Biden in a small private meeting Thursday he and his administration needed to show more empathy toward Palestinian lives and pushed back on his comment this week casting doubt on civilian death figures in Gaza provided by the health ministry there, according to two of the attendees. The meeting, described as frank and productive, also included calls for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Still, Biden’s comment at a news conference Wednesday that he had “no confidence” in death figures provided by the Gaza health ministry drew condemnation from top Muslim-American groups. “I have no notion that the Palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed,” Biden said. “I’m sure innocents have been killed, and it’s a price of waging war,” he added.