Biden warned Netanyahu that U.S. policy toward Israel hinges on protecting civilians in Gaza.
Washington:
U.S. President Joe Biden said on Friday that Israel was heeding his demands to allow aid into Gaza, a day after he warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a sharp shift in policy.
Asked as he left the White House whether he had threatened to withhold military aid to Israel in his call with Netanyahu, Biden responded: “I’m asking them to do what they’re doing.”
In a tense call on Thursday, Biden warned Netanyahu that U.S. policy toward Israel hinges on protecting civilians and aid workers in Gaza following an Israeli attack that killed seven aid workers.
Hours after the two leaders spoke, Israel announced it would allow “temporary” aid deliveries to famine-threatened northern Gaza through the Israeli port of Ashdod and the Erez crossing.
Israel also said it would fire two military officers after discovering a series of “serious errors” that led to a drone strike that killed a World Central Kitchen aid worker.
However, the White House said Israel must do more to fulfill its commitments to Biden.
“It is very important that these commitments are fully realized and implemented quickly,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters by phone.
Kirby added, however, that the United States did not intend to investigate the deaths of aid workers, including American-Canadian citizen Jacob Flickinger.
“The United States has no plans to conduct an independent investigation or separate investigation into this incident,” Kirby said.
Biden’s warning about the policy change was the clearest hint yet of potential military support from Washington since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas operatives triggered the start of Israel’s war against Hamas.
Despite concerns about the rising Palestinian death toll and the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, the US president remains supportive of Israel.
But as the November U.S. presidential election approaches, Biden faces growing opposition from Muslim and young voters to his Gaza policy, with key allies calling on him to change course.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
