‘Irate’ Biden calls Netanyahu, but no real consequences for Israel yet
We understand that call is taking place right now, and Biden is irate. He’s furious, and he’s dressing down the Israeli prime minister, we’re told, because of the high civilian casualties [in Gaza] and because seven aid workers have been killed.
You keep wondering why the United States isn’t withholding those weapons [it sends to Israel] to prevent these kinds of killings. That’s the big question in the United States and around the world.
At some point, members of the president’s own party are saying that maybe there should be some conditions attached to these weapons, but the president isn’t there yet, even as there have been 33,000 Palestinians killed in Israel’s war in Gaza. But he’s under pressure to do so.
Benjamin Netanyahu, despite the US president’s caution, is planning a ground invasion into Rafah, which the US says is a mistake.
The US president is trying to encourage him to pursue alternatives.
Biden-Netanyahu call lasted less than 30 minutes
Biden has spoken with Netanyahu just moments ago, three days after Israel launched an attack that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza, a White House official says.
The White House has described Biden as outraged and heartbroken by the attack, but the president has made no fundamental change in Washington’s steadfast support for Israel in its conflict against Hamas fighters.
The call between the two leaders lasted less than 30 minutes, a White House official said.
The White House has released a readout of Biden’s phone call with Netanyahu.
The US president told the Israeli prime minister that the US government expected “specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers” and “US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps”, according to the White House.
This is one of the most concrete threats Biden has made to Netanyahu after actions by the Israeli army that have caused international outrage, but it remains to be seen what follow-through there will be, if any, from a US policy perspective as the US continues to approve weapons transfers to Israel.
Biden ended the call with a pledge of support for Israel on “public Iranian threats against Israel and the Israeli people”, referring to Iran’s promise to retaliate after strikes on its consulate in Damascus killed at least seven of its personnel.
“President Biden made clear that the United States strongly supports Israel in the face of those threats,” the White House said
White House urges Israel aid action within ‘coming hours and days’
The White House says Israel must allow a “dramatic” increase of aid into Gaza within “hours or days,” after US President Joe Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that major changes are needed in the way the war is conducted.
“What we are looking to see and hope to see here in the coming hours and days is a dramatic increase in the humanitarian assistance getting in, additional crossings opened up, and a reduction in the violence against civilians and certainly aid workers,” US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.
Biden-Netanyahu call ‘will have implications’
Mahjoob Zweiri, director of the Gulf Studies Center at Qatar University, says there is nothing that so far indicates what Netanyahu’s response was to his call with Biden.
Netanyahu usually takes to social media or holds a press conference and “reflects on what happened in the phone call” because it’s his way to say he’s “challenging what has been talked about”, Zweiri said.
Biden is especially “frustrated and very upset” because he is reportedly a close friend to celebrity chef and founder of the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity Jose Andres, Zweiri said.
An Israeli attack that killed seven WCK aid workers in Gaza this week “puts more pressure on Biden”, he added. “I would argue that this phone call will have implications,” Zweiri said.
US support for Israel’s defence ‘ironclad’ despite ‘frustration’: White House
US President Joe Biden’s tougher tone in a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israel’s war on Gaza reflected mounting “frustration” that Israel is not heeding demands to protect civilians, the White House has said.
“Yes, there’s been growing frustration,” National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters when asked whether the call reflected Biden’s frustration.
However, he added that the US’ support for “Israel’s self-defence remains ironclad”.
“They face a range of threats, and the United States isn’t going to walk away,” he said.
And Israel will only keep creating more threats to themselves if you keep shipping them bombs....
