U.S. President Joe Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday for the first time in more than a month, expressing concern about Israel’s war against Hamas militants in Gaza and its attack on the southern Israeli city of Rafah. New worries about ground attacks. Egypt border.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden told the Israeli leader on the call, “Our shared goal is to defeat Hamas. We just believe you need a coherent and sustainable strategy to achieve that goal.”

Sullivan called Netanyahu’s plan to launch a ground offensive to “slam” Rafah a “mistake.” More than a million Palestinians have taken shelter in makeshift tents and buildings trying to protect themselves from the ravages of the war, with many abandoning their homes in northern Gaza on orders from the Israeli military as Israel continues its assault on the area.

Israel has pledged to move Palestinians in Rafah to an undisclosed location to ensure their safety before launching any attacks in the area, but has not publicly indicated the location.

At Biden’s request, Sullivan said Netanyahu agreed to send a team of Israeli officials to Washington in the coming days, possibly early next week, to discuss any Israeli plans for an attack on Rafah and concerns about shelter there. Safeguards for Palestinians.

Sullivan said the United States had “every hope” Israel would not launch any attack on Rafah before discussions in Washington.

“We discussed the latest developments in the war, including Israel’s commitment to achieving all the goals of the war – the destruction of Hamas, the release of our all hostages” and pledged that Gaza would no longer pose a threat to Israel while providing necessary humanitarian assistance to help achieve these goals. “

rising frustration

Biden’s phone call with Netanyahu came as the U.S. leader expressed growing frustration with Israel’s war conduct, the mounting death toll of Palestinian civilians and the lack of humanitarian aid for Gaza’s starving people.

Over the weekend, Biden embraced the general tone and even the full details of a speech last week by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the nation’s most senior Jewish leader, saying Netanyahu was responsible for overseeing the war. “lost its way” and called for new elections.

Netanyahu retorted in an interview with CNN on Sunday that Schumer’s call for an early election was a “totally inappropriate” demand, as some U.S. Republicans attacked the Senate Democratic leader’s speech criticizing Israel. also expressed the same position.

Negotiators from Israel and Hamas will travel to Qatar this week to once again try to agree a six-week ceasefire and release 40 of the approximately 100 hostages still held by Hamas in exchange for dozens imprisoned by Israel. Palestinians.

But Sullivan said of truce talks: “So far, this agreement has been more difficult to achieve than we had hoped.”

On the battlefield, the Israeli military said on Monday it was conducting operations at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, an area that has faced international criticism for a November attack.

Israel Defense Forces spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement that the Israeli army took action on Monday because senior Hamas officials were using the hospital to direct attacks on Israel.

“We will conduct this operation with care and caution while ensuring the hospital continues its important functions,” Hagari said.

air strikes, tanks

Witnesses said there was an air strike near the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, and Israeli tanks were also seen near the hospital.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Monday that Israel was “provoking famine” in Gaza and using hunger “as a weapon of war.”

“In Gaza we are no longer on the brink of famine, we are in a state of famine, affecting thousands of people,” Borrell told a Gaza humanitarian aid conference in Brussels.

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the Israeli government “allows extensive humanitarian assistance to Gaza by land, air and sea to anyone willing to help” and accused Hamas militants of “violently disrupting aid convoys”.

Humanitarian organizations frequently cite challenges in delivering aid to Gaza, including being blockaded by Israel and being unable to access areas inside Gaza due to the conflict.

The war began when Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. According to Israeli statistics, 1,200 people were killed and Hamas captured about 250 hostages. Gaza health officials say Israel’s counteroffensive has killed nearly 32,000 people, the vast majority of them women and children, while displacing more than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and leveling much of the territory’s infrastructure and homes.

VOA’s Anita Powell and Patsy Vidakuswara contributed to this report. Some information comes from Reuters, AP and AFP.