A former top Biden Middle East adviser is being accused of rewriting his own role in the Gaza war, and the pushback is sharply negative for the Biden camp's reputation.

• Brett McGurk, Biden's lead Middle East adviser, is publicly defending the administration's handling of Gaza and blaming Hamas for the collapse of the early ceasefire.
• Critics say he enabled the war instead, pointing to a new book that describes officials inside the administration working against a ceasefire deal.
• His claim that Hamas refused to free younger women is called misleading, since those captives were Israeli soldiers, not civilians.
• Biden could have cut off military aid to Israel at any time and chose not to — a question American TV interviewers almost never ask.
• McGurk served under Bush, Obama, Trump, and Biden, which critics hold up as proof that US policy on Israel never changes no matter who wins elections.

Outlook: Expect more Biden-era officials to publish books and give interviews defending their Gaza decisions, and more fights over who is telling the truth.