“In the coming hours and days, we will be looking at specific, concrete steps that they will take,” White House Press Secretary John Kirby said.
The phone call between the two leaders comes after seven employees of Jose Andrés’ World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli attack on a clearly marked convoy, sparking outrage in the United States and abroad. This took place three days after the incident. Kirby said the president had put a call with Prime Minister Netanyahu on hold because of the particularly deadly attack, adding that Biden was “disturbed” by the attack.
In Thursday’s phone call, Biden said, “Israel will take a series of specific, concrete and measurable measures to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers,” according to a White House briefing summary. “We have announced the measures and made it clear that they need to be implemented.” phone. “He made clear that U.S. policy on Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these measures.”
According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, the death toll in the Gaza Strip has exceeded 32,000, and as pressure mounts among leading Democrats to make arms sales to Israel conditional, Mr. This is the first time that he has indicated that he intends to reevaluate his unwavering support for the election campaign. Although the president’s rhetoric regarding Israel’s response to the crisis has become increasingly pointed, he has so far not directly warned Israel of the consequences of not changing course.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that message Thursday in Brussels. And Sen. Chris Coons (D-Delaware), a Biden ally and fervent supporter of Israel, said the U.S. is at a “point” where it must impose conditions on military aid to Israel. .
The change comes as Israel plans to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah. In Rafah, up to 1.5 million Palestinians evacuated on Israeli orders are sheltering in dilapidated conditions. U.S. officials have warned Israel against a large-scale operation in Rafah that could put large numbers of civilians at risk.
“If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the order, [Israel Defense Forces] “I would vote to condition aid to Israel if there was a massive intervention in Rafah…no provision of civilian or humanitarian aid,” Coons said on CNN. “I’ve never said that before. I’ve never been here before.”
Despite the clear warning, the White House did not provide details on how Israel would assess the attack. Has it complied with Biden’s demands, or how U.S. policy might change if the administration decides not to do so?
“Even if you don’t see a change on their side, you’re going to see a change on our side,” Kirby said. “But I’m not going to preview what that will look like.” He declined to say whether the U.S. might end military aid to Israel.
Kirby said that among the changes Biden wants to see are “a significant increase in humanitarian supplies, additional border openings, and a reduction in violence against civilians.” He added that the US expects Israel to not only “announce” changes, but also “implement” and “implement” them.
The White House’s summary of the Biden-Netanyahu meeting added that Biden told the Israeli prime minister that the humanitarian situation in Gaza was “unacceptable” and called for an “immediate ceasefire.”
Israel launched a military operation in Gaza after Hamas militants attacked the border, killing 1,200 people, including many civilians, and taking 253 hostages.
Biden on Thursday asked Prime Minister Netanyahu to “authorize negotiators to conclude without delay an agreement to bring the hostages home,” the White House said, as the Israeli leader secures a six-week cease-fire. He suggested that further efforts could be made. On October 7, many of the remaining hostages held by Hamas were released. Biden officials have been pushing for a ceasefire for months.
Biden and his aides have repeatedly pressed Israel to allow more aid to Gaza, reduce civilian casualties and protect aid workers. But despite unprecedented military support, they have so far been reluctant to take any punitive measures, even though Prime Minister Netanyahu has become increasingly defiant to US demands. be.
Andres, a celebrity chef and founder of World Central Kitchen, told Reuters on Wednesday that Israel was targeting his employees “systematically, car by car.” He questioned how the Biden administration could provide humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip while continuing to provide arms to Israel.
Kirby said Netanyahu told Biden in a phone call that the IDF did not intentionally target the convoy. Israeli authorities have apologized for the attack.
Despite increasing expressions of anger and dissatisfaction with Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip, Biden and senior aides say U.S. support for Israel remains strong, especially as threats of escalation with Iran and Hezbollah mount this week. He emphasized. On Monday, an Israeli airstrike on the Syrian capital Damascus killed two senior members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and five other officers.
“Our support for Israel is Self-defense remains strict,” Kirby said Thursday. “They face a variety of threats, and the United States has no intention of withdrawing from assisting Israel with their defense. That being said…the president believes we need to change the way we protect ourselves from the Hamas threat. I believe so, and I still believe so.”
Israeli invasion of Gaza According to the United Nations, dozens of children died from malnutrition and starvation, creating a humanitarian catastrophe. More than 80% of Gaza’s population has been displaced, and the entire population faces severe food insecurity, according to U.S. officials and aid groups.
About 200 humanitarian aid workers, most of them Palestinians, have been killed in the war, a number that a senior United Nations official said is almost three times the death toll recorded in a year in other conflicts. . Biden is close to Andres, calling him a “friend,” and the killing of the World Central Kitchen worker has prompted the president to use much stronger language than he did during the six-month war. Ta.
Despite Biden’s support, Netanyahu has defied the United States on a number of key issues. The prime minister has rejected or ignored Biden’s calls for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, his demands for more aid to Gaza, and his warnings against a full-scale operation in Rafah.
Mr Kirby said the issue of humanitarian assistance and the ongoing Rafah invasion were closely related.
“Today’s conference call was really focused on humanitarian assistance and civilian casualties, and that includes humanitarian workers,” Kirby said. But “we can’t talk about Rafah and its potential operations against Hamas battalions without talking about the humanitarian situation on the ground. It’s a dire situation.”
