US President Joe Biden, in his first debate with his rival from the Republican Party, former President Donald Trump, held Hamas responsible for the continuation of the war in Gaza.

Biden said in the debate on Thursday that “the UN Security Council, the Group of Seven, and the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agreed to a proposed plan in three stages... and Hamas wants the war to continue.”

Biden indicated that he was "pressing hard to get Hamas to agree to the plan," and he also defended his decision to suspend sending a single shipment of bombs weighing 2,000 tons (more than 900 kg), because their use in populated areas would lead to bad results.

He stressed that the United States is Israel's biggest supporter, noting that Hamas has been "weakened" and "we must eliminate" the movement.

For his part, Trump criticized Biden's policies that he claimed caused the October 7 attack, and stated that his previous administration "dried up all revenues for Tehran, making it unable to support Hamas or any armed groups in the region."

Trump added, "Biden says that it is Hamas that does not want a ceasefire, but it is Israel that does not want a ceasefire. They must end the matter (by continuing the war)."

Trump also described Biden as a “bad Palestinian,” claiming that the American president supports the Palestinians at the expense of Israel, as he put it.

Regarding the other foreign policy issue that was discussed in the debate, the Russian-Ukrainian war, Trump criticized Biden’s policies towards the Ukraine war, and said: “If there had been a real president whom (Russian President Vladimir) Putin respected, Putin would not have invaded Ukraine.” He added, "Biden was bad in Afghanistan, and Putin watched this and observed incompetence," and when "Putin saw this, he said that he would go to invade Ukraine, as this is his dream."

He stressed that "Putin's conditions are unacceptable, but the war should not have started," and Biden gave "200 billion dollars to Ukraine," describing the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, as "the best seller" because "every time he comes to Washington, he gets billions."

Addressing Biden, he said: “These billions should not have been spent,” and stressed that the war “will end before he takes office.”

For his part, Biden responded that his administration had evacuated “more than 100,000 and others from Afghanistan by air,” and what was happening in Ukraine was encouraging “Trump-Putin to do whatever he wanted.”

He said, "Putin wanted to control Kiev within days, but he was unable to do so and lost thousands."

Biden described Putin as "a war criminal who killed thousands. He wants to restore the Soviet empire. He will not stop at Ukraine. If he succeeds in the war, he will continue to other countries."

Regarding the controversy over his old age, Biden said, “I was criticized for many days when I was the youngest in the Senate. Now I am the oldest, and Trump is only three years younger than me, but he did not achieve what I achieved in my administration,” while Trump, for his part, responded by saying that He conducted two cognitive tests and a physical examination and said, “I won two golf tournaments, and he cannot do that,” challenging President Biden to a golf match and wishing that the American president would conduct examinations like him.

Experts agreed that President Biden lost the debate badly, and that during it he appeared as if he was confused and unable to concentrate, spoke incoherently, and appeared weak in mind and body, especially since he was suffering from a cold and a hoarse voice.

After the debate, Trump strengthened his position in the so-called interactive polls on who should become the new American president. Biden, on the contrary, lost in the ratings.

Evaluations before the debate showed 59% of the interaction in favor of Trump, 34% in favor of Biden, while Trump advanced by a large margin after the debate, recording 65%, while Biden fell to 23% of the interaction.