Protests held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York in February 2024. It features the faces of Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu, who are depicted as close allies. (Selcuk Achar/Anadolu via Getty Images)
- US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that US policy towards Gaza would depend on what Israel does to protect civilians.
- Biden told Netanyahu in a brief phone call that Israel needed to conclude a cease-fire agreement soon.
- The US wants “concrete, specific and measurable steps” from Israel regarding the humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
The United States on Thursday issued its strongest public rebuke to Israel since the start of its war with Hamas, saying its policy toward Gaza will depend on whether Israel takes steps to address the safety of Palestinian civilians and aid workers. He warned that a decision would be made.
After a phone conversation between the two leaders, US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel must take immediate action to alleviate civilian harm and suffering, the White House announced. did.
Biden also told Netanyahu in a phone call that lasted less than 30 minutes that an immediate cease-fire in the region is essential, and that he is working with Hamas to bring home Israeli hostages for the first time in about six months after an attack by Palestinian militants. He called on Israel to “conclude an agreement without delay.” The attack by the group on October 7th.
The White House statement reflects a sharp shift in Biden's tone and, in what appears to be the first time, a set of conditions attached to continued U.S. support.
Biden urges political leftists to stop killings and alleviate the starvation of innocent civilians by suggesting that a change in U.S. policy toward Gaza is possible if Israel does not address the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave. As pressure from the base increased, he aired his own dissatisfaction. .
The White House said in a statement that Biden would “announce and implement a series of concrete, tangible, and measurable steps for Israel to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers.” “We have made the need clear.”
The president also added, “We have made clear that U.S. policy regarding Gaza will be determined by the assessment of Israel's immediate action on these measures.”
On Monday, Israel launched an attack that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in the Gaza Strip.
The White House says Biden is furious and heartbroken by the attack, but ahead of Thursday's phone call, the president announced Washington's firm commitment to Israel in its conflict with Palestinian Hamas militants. It did not make any fundamental changes to its support.
In Brussels, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Israel, as a democracy, to prioritize human life and increase the flow of aid to Gaza, calling on Israel, as a democracy, to prioritize human life and increase the flow of aid to Gaza, calling on Israel this week's “terrible “Attack” must be carried out, he added. It would be the last such incident.
“There is no higher priority in the Gaza Strip at this time than protecting civilians, ramping up humanitarian aid, and ensuring the safety of those we serve,” Blinken told reporters. “Israel must rise to this moment. ” he said.
Celebrity chef José Andrés told Reuters in an emotional interview on Wednesday that Israeli attacks targeted aid workers “systematically, car by car.”
Israel announced on Thursday it would adjust its tactics in the Gaza war after describing the attack as the result of a misidentification and said the findings would be made public soon.
