Biden warns Netanyahu US support hinges on Gaza improvements
As pressure on Israel mounts regarding exorbitant civilian casualties and fears of an Iranian attack, US President Joe Biden explicitly warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call on April 4th that US support hinges on improved conditions in Gaza, Newsweek reported.
White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby stated that Biden “made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action” of “a series of specific, concrete and measurable steps” to address deaths of civilians and aid workers in the territory.
Biden’s warning came after the recent deaths of seven World Central Kitchen (WCK) aid workers as a result of Israeli airstrikes. They were hit after having unloaded around 100 tonnes of food to a Gaza warehouse.
“President Biden emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable,” Kirby said. “He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.”
The long-standing alliance between the US and Israel has grown increasingly strained. The April 4th phone call acts as the antithesis to Kirby’s statement from October 27th declaring that the US would not draw “red lines for Israel.”
READ: White House awaiting Hamas response to ceasefire proposal
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters that, on March 18th, Biden had communicated to Netanyahu that offensive action on Rafah — where more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million currently reside — would be a “mistake.” In response, Netanyahu said he made it “supremely clear” that Israel was “determined” to proceed regardless.
This came days after US Majority Senate Leader Chuck Schumer publicly slammed the Netanyahu administration as detrimental to Israel’s reputation and demanded new elections on March 14th.
Kirby said that Biden insisted “an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians.” “He urged the Prime Minister to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home,” he added.
On April 8th, Egyptian state-affiliated TV channel Al-Qahera News reported that Israeli and Hamas delegations had made “significant progress” in Cairo peace talks — though Hamas still possesses 129 hostages.
On April 1st, Israel bombed the Iranian embassy in Damascus — killing seven Revolutionary Guard fighters, two Iranian generals and five military advisers. The IDF neither confirmed nor denied its role in the attack, though it has been anticipating a retaliatory attack.
Iran’s ambassador to Syria Hossein Akbari said that the country’s response would be “at the same magnitude and harshness” as Israel’s.
Kirby added that two men “also discussed public Iranian threats against Israel and the Israeli people,” with Biden having “made clear that the United States strongly supports Israel in the face of those threats.”
READ: Iran tried to smuggle weapons into West Bank, claims Israel
In response, Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told Newsweek that “the United States is evidently one main side to blame for the continuation of war and obstruction of efforts to cease it.”
On April 4th, IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari addressed the situation in video remarks: “We have been in the midst of a multi-arena war, and we are on high alert in all arenas,” Hagari said. “We are monitoring the threats and thwarting them constantly, from several arenas, and are in a high state of both defensive and tactical readiness.”
“We are constantly assessing the situation, taking every statement and every enemy seriously,” he added. “We have raised the readiness of combat units as needed, wherever it was necessary, we have reinforced our defense systems, and we have planes ready for defense and prepared to act in a variety of scenarios.”
Newsweek
