WASHINGTON (AP) – President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that future U.S. aid to Israel's war in Gaza will depend on swift new measures to protect civilians and aid workers. He issued a stern warning that implementation would depend on it.
biden and prime minister netanyahu The prime minister's 30-minute phone call added another complication to tense relations between the two countries, days after an Israeli airstrike killed seven food aid workers in the Gaza Strip. Biden's message marks a sharp shift in the administration's firm support for Israel's war effort, with U.S. leaders warning that if Israel changes tactics and disallows significant humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, , threatened for the first time that it would reconsider its support.
The White House has not said what might change about U.S. policy, but it could include changes to military sales to Israel and U.S. diplomatic backing on the world stage.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said early Friday that his security cabinet had announced a series of “immediate measures” to increase the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza, including reopening a key crossing destroyed in the October 7 Hamas attack. announced that it had been approved.
Administration officials said before the announcement that the U.S. would assess whether Israel's move had gone far enough.
Biden “made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of concrete, tangible, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers.” ” the White House said in a statement after the leaders' call. . “He made clear that U.S. policy on Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel's immediate action on these measures.”
Biden also told Prime Minister Netanyahu it was “essential” to reach an “immediate ceasefire” in exchange for the estimated 100 hostages still being held in Gaza, and urged Israel to “delay “No such agreement can be reached.” Government officials said the conversation was “direct” and “honest.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the Erez crossing, which has long served as the only passenger terminal for people entering and leaving Gaza, will be temporarily reopened. He also said he would allow Israel to use the port of Ashdod to handle Gaza-bound aid shipments, and allow an increase in Jordanian aid shipments via another land route. The announcement did not elaborate on the amount or type of items to be brought in.
White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrian Watson welcomed Netanyahu's move, adding that the plan “must be fully and quickly implemented.”
“As the President said in today's telephone conversation, U.S. policy on Gaza is determined by our assessment of Israel's immediate action on these and other measures, including measures to protect the safety of innocent civilians and aid workers.” “It will be determined by what happens,” Watson said.
The conversation between the leaders goes something like this: world central kitchenThe organization founded by restaurateur Jose Andres to provide immediate food relief to disaster-stricken areas has called for an independent investigation into the Israeli airstrike that killed seven of its staff, including an American. The White House said the United States had no plans to conduct its own investigation.
Separately, Secretary of State antony blinken He told reporters in Brussels that U.S. aid would be cut if Israel did not make significant adjustments to the way it waged the war. “If we don't see the changes we need to see, our policies will change,” he said.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby not only reiterated his long-standing demand to allow additional aid to flow into Gaza, but also reiterated his call for “concrete” changes for the Israeli side to take.
“If there's no change in their approach, we're going to have to change ours,” Kirby said. “We have work to do. Too many civilians are being killed.”
Demands for a swift end to the conflict against Israel are growing across political lines, with former presidents donald trump, The Republican candidate scheduled to run against Biden this fall said Thursday that Israel: “You will definitely lose the PR battle.” He called for a solution to the bloody incident.
“Let's end this and get back to peace and stop killing people. It's a very simple statement,” President Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “They've got to get it done. They've got to get it over with. They've got to get it over with quickly. They've got to get back to normalcy and peace.”
Kirby said Biden and Netanyahu also discussed Iran's threat to Israel.Earlier this week, Iranian leaders vowed to fight back following airstrikes. widely criticized Israel destroyed the Iranian consulate in Syria and killed 12 people, including two elite Iranian generals.president of iran Ebrahim Raisi On Wednesday, he said the attack “will not go unanswered.”
Biden also expressed concern about Netanyahu's plan to carry out an operation in the southern city of Rafah, home to about 1.5 million displaced Palestinians, as Israel seeks to annihilate the militant group Hamas. has been renewed. Deadly October 7th Attack. Vice President Kamala Harris, Mr. Blinken and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan also participated in the call.
Still, the Biden administration is rapidly moving forward with arms transfers and deliveries to Israel, many of which were approved years ago but have only been partially implemented or not implemented at all. Just this past Monday, the Democratic administration's “daily list” of military transfers included the sale to Israel of more than 1,000 500-pound (225 kilograms) bombs and more than 1,000 1,000-pound (450 kilograms) bombs.
Officials said the transfers were approved before the list was released on Monday, the day Israeli airstrikes hit the World Central Kitchen relief convoy, and were below the threshold for new Congressional notifications. Stated. He also pointed out that the bomb would not be delivered to Israel until 2025.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon announced Thursday that plans to build a temporary pier off the coast of Gaza to facilitate the flow of aid to the Strip continue to move forward. Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the pier would be restored by the end of this month or early May. Biden announced plans to build a floating pier during his State of the Union address last month.
Ryder said Israel had agreed to provide shore security during the transfer and distribution of aid, but details were still being worked out.
Israel has accepted responsibility for the strike against World Central Kitchen workers, but said the convoy was not targeted and their deaths were unintentional. The country continues to investigate the circumstances of the murder.
Mr. Andres harshly criticized the Israeli military attack and his organization suspended its operations in Gaza.
“The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon,” he told X. “No more innocent lives will be lost,” he wrote.
The war in Gaza started when Hamas-led militants invade southern Israelkilled about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 250 hostages.
of Israeli military operations Experts say the Gaza Strip is one of the deadliest and most destructive in recent history. Within two months, the attack has already caused more destruction than ever before, researchers say. destruction of aleppo in syria Between 2012 and 2016, Mariupol in Ukraine Or, proportionately, the Allied bombing of Germany in World War II. It killed more civilians than the U.S.-led coalition killed in three years of countermilitary operations. islamic country group.
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Associated Press writers Matthew Lee in Brussels and Jill Colvin, Lolita C. Baldor, Colleen Long and Chris Megerian in New York contributed.