President Joe Biden speaks to reporters in Nantucket, Mass., Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023, about hostages freed by Hamas. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
President Biden reportedly fuming at Israeli prime minister, as the two leaders speak for the first time since an aid convoy was accidentally bombed in Gaza.
By David Rosenberg, World Israel News
President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the phone Thursday for their first direct talk since an aid convoy in the Gaza Strip was accidentally targeted by Israeli warplanes, leaving seven aid workers from the World Central Kitchen organization dead.
The two leaders spoke for approximately 45 minutes Thursday evening beginning at 7:00 p.m. Israel time.
“President Biden spoke by telephone with Prime Minister Netanyahu,” The White House confirmed. “The two leaders discussed the situation in Gaza.”
“President Biden emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable,” the White House statement added.
According to the White House, Biden pressured Netanyahu to agree to an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and to “empower” Israeli negotiators to reach a hostage deal with Hamas.
“He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers. 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.”
Biden “underscored that an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians, and he urged the Prime Minister to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home.”
“The two leaders also discussed public Iranian threats against Israel and the Israeli people. President Biden made clear that the United States strongly supports Israel in the face of those threats.”
Tensions have been rising between the two leaders lately, an American official told Axios in a reported published Thursday, with President Biden growing increasingly frustrated with the Israeli leader.
“Biden is pissed. The temperature regarding Bibi is very high,” the official was quoted as saying.
White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told reporters Wednesday that the president’s patience with Netanyahu is wearing thin.
“I think you could sense the frustration in that statement yesterday,” Kirby said, after Biden said he was “outraged” over the accidental targeting of the aid workers.
“I am outraged and heartbroken by the deaths of seven humanitarian workers from World Central Kitchen, including one American, in Gaza yesterday,” Biden said Tuesday. “They were providing food to hungry civilians in the middle of a war. They were brave and selfless. Their deaths are a tragedy.”
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also expressed his “outrage at the Israeli strike” during a telephone conversation with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (Likud) Wednesday night, according to a statement by the Pentagon.
Gallant vowed a “thorough and transparent investigation” into the incident, the Defense Ministry said in a statement Thursday.
The Israeli Defense Minister also promised to work closely with aid organizations to increase the flow of goods into the Gaza Strip.
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