by President Biden warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Sunday that a ground offensive in southern Gaza should not be carried out without a plan to protect the more than 1.4 million Palestinians gathered there, the latest sign of frustration. of the White House over the increase in civilian deaths at the hands of Israel. military assault.
During Sunday’s call, according to a White House description, the two leaders also discussed ongoing negotiations with Hamas to release Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for a ceasefire and the release of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails. .
Last week, Netanyahu flatly rejected as “ridiculous” a Hamas response in negotiations calling for Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of more than 100 Israeli hostages in Gaza.
But both American and Israeli officials later said there was still room to reach an agreement in the negotiations. A senior administration official who spoke about the Biden-Netanyahu call on condition of anonymity expressed optimism about the state of the talks, adding that they would continue over the next week to address “significant gaps” between the two sides.
“The president emphasized the need to capitalize on the progress made in the negotiations to ensure the release of all hostages as quickly as possible,” according to the White House statement. “He also called for urgent and specific measures to increase the performance and consistency of humanitarian assistance to innocent Palestinian civilians.”
Biden has strongly supported Israel’s decision to retaliate for the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas that killed about 1,200 people. But as the White House faces increasing pressure from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party over the administration’s support for Israel’s military, Biden’s criticism has become increasingly blunt. On Thursday he said Israel’s military operations in Gaza were “exaggerated.”
The comments were another sign of growing frustration in the White House with Netanyahu over the rising number of civilian deaths in Gaza, where more than 27,000 people have died, according to health authorities in the Hamas-ruled strip. Netanyahu, who is focused on appealing to the far-right flank of his coalition to maintain his hold on power, has also rejected the Biden administration’s call for a two-state solution after the war.
The White House has said on multiple occasions in recent days that it does not support Netanyahu’s likely invasion of Rafah, which sits on the border with Egypt. More than half of Gaza’s 2.2 million people are now sheltered in the city, many of them displaced after the Israeli army told them to flee south to avoid war in the north.
On Sunday, Biden “reaffirmed his view that a military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible and implementable plan to ensure safety and support for the more than one million people sheltering there,” according to the House. White.
In an interview with ABC News that aired Sunday, Netanyahu said, without giving details, that Israel was “drawing up a detailed plan” to move Gazans north of Rafah. Egypt has already said it will not accept Palestinians who try to cross the border.
Biden is expected to speak about the war again on Monday when he hosts Jordan’s King Abdullah II at the White House.
