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Biden pressured Netanyahu to ease Gaza airstrikes–report

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israel’s war cabinet that it had ‘weeks, not months’ to finish the war. 

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

President Joe Biden’s telephone conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have become increasingly tense as the Biden administration is attempting to pressure Israel into reducing or stopping airstrikes in Gaza, according to a New York Times report.

Although President Biden expressed his support for Israel early in the war and has voted against United Nations General Assembly measures to demand a ceasefire, more recently, the Biden administration has urged Israel to begin a less intense phase of the war and to ease airstrikes.

The US has urged Israel to instead focus on more targeted operations against Hamas.

The report reveals that during a “tense” conversation between the two world leaders last week,  Biden urged Netanyahu to “scale back the war to a surgical operation relying more on special forces raids targeting Hamas leaders and tunnels than wide-scale bombing.”

The NYT also reports that Netanyahu agreed to allow humanitarian aid as a condition for US President Biden’s visit to Israel.

During a November 30th visit, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Israel’s war cabinet that it had “weeks not months” to finish the war.

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According to one source, “The recent conversations between Mr. Biden and Mr. Netanyahu have grown more strained,” the Times reported. “Every call is tense and sometimes sharp, officials say, but at the same time matter of fact.”

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant revealed last week that the war is likely to be ongoing, will involve several fronts, and may take several more months.

This assessment was echoed by Netanyahu who said on a televised news conference over the weekend that Israel would not stop its campaign until it achieved its goals and the war would continue for “many more months.”

The IDF has been focusing its Gaza operations in Khan Younis where it has killed or captured thousands of Hamas terrorists and has destroyed Hamas infrastructure in the area.