Tag: Benjamin Netanyahu

An ultimatum raises pressure on Netanyahu to make postwar plans for Gaza, even as fighting rages

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is under mounting pressure from his own War Cabinet and his country’s closest ally over postwar plans for Gaza, even as the war with Hamas shows no sign of ending.

On Saturday, Benny Gantz, a member of the War Cabinet and Netanyahu’s main political rival, said he would leave the government on June 8 if it did not formulate a new war plan including an international, Arab and Palestinian administration to handle civilian affairs in Gaza.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the third member of the Cabinet, has also called for a plan for Palestinian administration and said in a speech this week that he wouldn’t agree to Israel governing Gaza itself.

The United States has meanwhile called for a revitalized Palestinian Authority to govern Gaza with assistance from Saudi Arabia and other Arab states ahead of eventual statehood. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is expected to push those plans when he visits Israel on Sunday.

So far, Netanyahu has brushed them all off. But Gantz’s ultimatum could reduce his margin for maneuver.

Netanyahu has ruled out any role for the Palestinian Authority in Gaza, saying he plans to hand civil responsibilities over to local Palestinians unaffiliated with it or Hamas. But he has also said that it’s impossible to make any such plans until Hamas is defeated because it has threatened anyone who cooperates with Israel.

Netanyahu’s government is also deeply opposed to Palestinian statehood.

In a statement issued after the ultimatum, Netanyahu said Gantz’s conditions would amount to ”defeat for Israel, abandoning most of the hostages, leaving Hamas intact and establishing a Palestinian state.”

Netanyahu added, however, that he still thought the emergency government was important for prosecuting the war, and that he “expects Gantz to clarify his positions to the public.”

Gantz’ departure would leave Netanyahu even more beholden to his far-right coalition allies, including National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who could more easily bring down the government if he doesn’t meet their demands.

They have called for Israel to reoccupy Gaza, encourage the “voluntary emigration” of Palestinians from the territory and reestablish Jewish settlements that were removed in 2005.

Critics of Netanyahu, including thousands who have joined weekly protests in recent months, accuse him of prolonging the war for his own political survival. Gantz, who brought his centrist party into the government days after the Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war, warned Netanyahu not to “choose the path of fanatics and lead the entire nation to the abyss.”

Netanyahu denies such accusations, saying he is focused on defeating Hamas and that elections would distract from the war effort.

Polls indicate Netanyahu would be driven from office if new elections were held, with Gantz most likely to replace him. That would probably mark the end of Netanyahu’s long political career and expose him to prosecution over longstanding corruption charges.

Israeli media have reported growing discontent within the country’s security establishment over the course of the war, with officials warning that the lack of any such planning was turning tactical victories into strategic defeat.

With no one else to govern Gaza, Hamas has repeatedly regrouped, even in the hardest-hit areas that Israel previously said it had cleared. Heavy fighting has erupted in recent days in the built-up Jabaliya refugee camp in the north and the Zeitoun neighbourhood on the outskirts of Gaza City.

Israeli troops are meanwhile pushing into parts of the southern city of Rafah in what they say is a limited operation. The fighting there has displaced some 800,000 people, many whom had already fled from other areas, and severely hindered the delivery of humanitarian aid.

Indirect talks mediated by the United States, Qatar and Egypt aimed at a cease-fire and the release of scores of hostages held by Hamas meanwhile appear at a standstill, with many of the hostages’ families and their supporters blaming the Israeli government.

“Something has gone wrong,” Gantz said in his address. “Essential decisions were not taken. Acts of leadership required to ensure victory were not carried out. A small minority has taken over the command bridge of the Israeli ship and is leading it toward a wall of rocks.”

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Joe Biden warns he will hold back more weapons if Israel invades Rafah

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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US President Joe Biden said he would halt additional shipments of offensive weapons to Israel if the country proceeded with a ground invasion of Rafah, decrying the potential loss of civilian life as “just wrong.”

“We’re going to continue to make sure Israel is secure in terms of Iron Dome and their ability to respond to attacks that came out of the Middle East recently,” Biden said in an interview Wednesday with CNN. “But it’s, it’s just wrong. We’re not going to – we’re not going to supply the weapons and artillery shells.”

The remarks came after the US paused delivery of about 3,500 bombs to Israel — including 2,000-pound (900-kilogram) explosives that could cause massive collateral damage in the densely packed southern Gaza city of Rafah — amid mounting frustration over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conduct of the war in Gaza. The move marked the Biden administration’s most serious signal of displeasure over the conduct of the ongoing war against Hamas.

“Civilians have been killed in Gaza as a consequence of those bombs and other ways in which they go after population centers,” Biden said.

Earlier Wednesday, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the US is reviewing “other potential weapon systems” as needed. A congressional aide and an administration official, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations, said another pending arms sale has been under review for months — a potential $260 million sale between Boeing Co. and Israel for as many as 6,500 tail-kits to convert unguided bombs into GPS-guided Joint Direct Attack Munitions.

Yet even as tension mounts, Biden administration officials and former officials said the moves had a clearly defined goal: exert as much pressure as possible on Israel to scale back or abandon an invasion of Rafah while being careful not to make a total break with Netanyahu’s government.

The administration also wants to preserve space for negotiators who have convened in Cairo this week to keep striving for a cease-fire and hostage deal between Israel and Hamas. Officials in those talks include Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns, who is trying to bring home a deal whose prospects have whipsawed between hopeful and grim.

“The pause in arms shipments should not be read as a major break in the relationship,” said Mara Rudman, who held senior Middle East diplomatic roles in the Obama and Clinton administrations and is now a professor at the University of Virginia. “Consider it as an element in the mix at a key inflection point — maximizing efforts to reach a cease-fire that brings out hostages, brings in humanitarian relief and starts to build a pathway to greater sanity all around.”

It all comes at a critical juncture in the seven-month old conflict. Biden is facing domestic pressure for a solution with US elections just six months away. At the same time, Israel has begun strikes in Rafah that could either pressure Hamas leaders into signing a cease-fire deal or scuttle the negotiations entirely.

Biden’s decision on the arms supplies marks one of the most significant moments of discord between Israel and its most important ally since Hamas’s October 7 assault, which started the war. Hamas, designated a terrorist organization by the US, killed 1,200 people and abducted about 250 when its fighters stormed into southern Israel from Gaza.

The US has stepped up its criticism of Israel in recent months, saying it’s not doing enough to protect civilians and allow aid into the besieged Palestinian territory, parts of which the United Nations says are on the verge of famine. “There have been far too many casualties in this battle space,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in congressional testimony Wednesday. Israel’s bombardment and ground offensive in Gaza have killed almost 35,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Biden’s decision was immediately assailed by the Israelis, who privately expressed deep frustration to the US and warned that it could jeopardize the negotiations at a crucial moment, according to a person briefed on the discussions. The Israelis also told US officials that pressure should be put on Hamas, not on Israel, said the person, who also asked not to be named to speak freely about private discussions.

It was also assailed by Republican lawmakers in Washington, who accused the administration of sending the wrong message to Hamas and other Iran-backed militant groups such as Hezbollah.

The pauses “call into question your pledge that your commitment to Israel’s security will remain ironclad,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a joint letter to Biden Wednesday. “Daylight between the United States and Israel at this dangerous time risks emboldening Israel’s enemies and undermining the trust that other allies and partners have in the United States.”

While the administration has warned against a large-scale Israeli move on Rafah, where there are intact battalions of Hamas fighters, US officials have signaled they would accept a more surgical, targeted campaign. Biden told CNN that Israel’s actions in Rafah – including air strikes near border areas – had not yet crossed the line.

“They haven’t gone into the population centers. What they did is right on the border. And it’s causing problems with, right now, in terms of – with Egypt, which I’ve worked very hard to make sure we have a relationship and help,” he said.

Biden told Netanyahu last month, following the killing of World Central Kitchen aid workers in an Israeli strike, that ongoing US support for the war would depend on new steps to protect civilians.

“I’ve made it clear to Bibi and the war cabinet: They’re not going to get our support, if in fact they go on these population centers,” Biden said Wednesday, referencing the Israeli prime minister’s nickname.

The US also stopped far short of halting all military aid to Israel. The US recently signed a foreign-aid package that contains billions of dollars of fresh assistance for Israel. The paused bomb shipment isn’t connected to those funds, Austin said. Arms transfers that are under review were drawn from previously appropriated money, and the White House is committed to ensuring Israel gets all the new national security aid, he said.

While the administration’s actions this week might represent the toughest US stance on Israel’s behavior so far, it’s still been handled in a way that shows both sides want to keep the relationship on solid ground, according to Gerald Feierstein, a veteran US diplomat who’s now a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.

At the same time, he said, other developments could further strain the US-Israel relationship, including a government memorandum due this week that outlines whether the US believes Israel violated international humanitarian law in Gaza.

“We still see the administration not being willing to risk an open break or an open confrontation with the Israelis,” he said. “A lot of it just depends on how things play out in Rafah and whether it gets worse.”

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Israel-Hamas war: Former ambassador warns of imminent humanitarian catastrophe in Rafah

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Israel has confirmed that it has taken control of the Palestinian side of the crossing between Gaza and Egypt. This is the only Gaza border crossing that was not controlled by Israel and has served as the entry point for much of the limited humanitarian aid that has entered Gaza.

Egypt has condemned Israel’s move, calling it a “dangerous escalation.” The country’s military also called on the Israeli side to “stay away” from policies that would threaten a potential truce.

Meanwhile, truce talks are to resume in Cairo after Israel said the terms that Hamas had agreed to were unacceptable. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected it as “far from Israel’s basic requirements.”

Discussing Israel’s recent operations in Rafah and its seizure of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, Anil Trigunayat, a former ambassador, highlighted significant implications. He emphasised that such actions would exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation for the approximately 1.4 million people in Rafah.

“Almost 1.4 million people are there in Rafah at the moment, who have been just pushed around that. So they will be suffering a great deal and as has been feared by everyone, including the United States, which have tried to dissuade Netanyahu from going further ahead into Rafah.”

Read Here | Israel says a ceasefire plan backed by Hamas falls far short

Trigunayat also pointed out the potential strain on the Egypt-Israel peace treaty since 1979, as Egypt has historically limited Palestinian refugees’ entry to avoid the escalation of conflict with Israel.

“Egypt has not allowed a lot of Palestinian refugees to come into its side. Because if any attack they did against Israel, Israel will counter attack and then there will be a possibility of a bigger war between Israel and Egypt, which is what they have been trying to avoid, but it looks like that this is very imminent now,” he said.

Despite frantic efforts by the US, Egypt, and Qatar to negotiate terms, tensions remain high. Trigunayat expressed doubts in relation to Israel’s objectives in Rafah, noting the risk of a disastrous outcome.

Trigunayat added, “If you remember that Netanyahu has said that deal or no deal, we will go into Rafah. Now, because their main objective is somehow they feel that battalions of the Hamas leadership are there and they expect that there are probably remaining hostages in Rafah. They just want to secure them, and I doubt very much that they will be successful in it. But at the same time, there is going to be a disastrous consequence of this.”

He warned of a continued humanitarian catastrophe due to the disruption of aid routes, particularly through Rafah. Additionally, he questioned whether the US has sufficient leverage to influence Israel’s actions.

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‘Israel cannot accept this’, says Netanyahu as he rejects Hamas’ demand to end Gaza war

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a demand from Palestinian militant group Hamas to cease hostilities as part of a ceasefire agreement. “The State of Israel cannot accept this,” he said, according to reports and emphasised concerns about Hamas regaining control in Gaza and posing a renewed threat to Israeli citizens.

Netanyahu reiterated his stance during a cabinet meeting and stressed on the need to prevent Hamas from rebuilding its military capabilities and endangering Israel’s security. On May 4, thousands of Israelis gathered late into the night in Tel Aviv, urging efforts to secure the release of hostages captured by Hamas terrorist on October 7. Demonstrators in the capital voiced their opposition to a prolonged conflict, with some accusing the Prime Minister of exacerbating tensions in Gaza.

Amidst the developments, a Hamas delegation engaged in talks with mediators in Egypt, signalling ongoing diplomatic efforts to broker a ceasefire. However, no significant breakthroughs were reported, according to BBC.

Negotiations in Cairo, facilitated by Egypt and Qatar, centered on proposals for halting Israel’s offensive in Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages. The key point of contention remains whether the ceasefire would be temporary or permanent. Discussions included a proposed 40-day cessation of hostilities concurrent with the release of hostages and Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.

Also read: World View | Two months of Israel-Hamas war — here’s why Gaza will be a ‘Zone D’

An adviser to Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh conveyed the group’s serious consideration of the latest proposal, reports suggest. However, Hamas reiterated its demand for an explicit commitment to an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and the complete cessation of hostilities as part of any agreement.

Amid escalating tensions, an unnamed Israeli government official told local news outlets that Israel would continue military operations in Gaza, regardless of ceasefire negotiations, highlighting the determination to address security threats posed by Hamas.

The conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas escalated after in early October 2023, when Hamas gunmen launched an unprecedented attack from Gaza into Israel, resulting in the deadliest assault in Israel’s history.

Following the initial attack, Israel responded with a military campaign targeting Hamas strongholds in the Palestinian territory, leading to a significant loss of life among Gaza’s population.

During the Hamas incursion into Israel on October 7, dozens of gunmen breached Gaza’s border, resulting in the death of approximately 1,200 individuals. The attack also involved the firing of thousands of rockets into Israeli territory, causing widespread destruction and casualties, including among civilians, children, and the elderly. Tragically, a music festival attended by 364 young people became a target of violence.

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Israel will defend itself, Benjamin Netanyahu says, as West calls for restraint

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Israel will make its own decisions about how to defend itself, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, as Western countries pleaded for restraint in responding to a volley of attacks from Iran.

The United States, European Union and G7 group of industrialised nations all announced plans to consider tighter sanctions on Iran, seen as aimed at mollifying Israel and persuading it to rein in its retaliation for the first ever direct Iranian strikes after decades of confrontation by proxy.

Iran attacked in retaliation for a suspected Israeli airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1. Israel and its allies mostly shot down all missiles and drones and there were no deaths, but Israel says it must retaliate to preserve the credibility of its deterrents. Iran says it views the matter as closed but will retaliate again if Israel does.

Israel’s Air Force said late on Wednesday its fighter jets had struck the “terrorist infrastructure” of Iran-backed Hezbollah in eastern Lebanon, stoking concerns about a further escalation in clashes across Israel’s northern border.

Earlier, Netanyahu met the German and British foreign ministers, who both travelled to Israel as part of a coordinated push to keep confrontation between Israel and Iran from escalating into a regional conflict fueled by the Gaza war.

Netanyahu’s office said he thanked Annalena Baerbock and David Cameron for their support, while telling them: “I want to make it clear – we will make our own decisions, and the State of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself.”

Earlier, Cameron said it was now apparent Israel planned to retaliate for the Iranian missile and drone strikes.

Baerbock said escalation “would serve no one, not Israel’s security, not the many dozens of hostages still in the hands of Hamas, not the suffering population of Gaza, not the many people in Iran who are themselves suffering under the regime…”

More than six months into the Gaza war between Israel and the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas that has seen flare-ups across the Middle East, diplomats are searching for a way to avert direct battle between Israel and Iran.

Jordan added to the calls for restraint, warning of a war that could be “devastating” for the region.

“The risks are enormous. That could drag the whole region into war, which would be devastating to us in the region and we’ll have very, very serious implications for the rest of the world including the U.S,” Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said. “The situation is too dangerous. The chances of regional explosion are real, and that has got to stop. We’ve got to make sure there’s no further escalation.”

Washington says it is planning to impose new sanctions targeting Iran’s missile and drone programme in coming days and expects its allies will follow suit.

EU leaders were due to discuss sanctions at summit in Brussels, as were G7 foreign ministers meeting in Italy.

‘Stop the war! Stop the war!’

Since Hamas fighters triggered the war in Gaza by attacking southern Israel, killing 1,200 people and capturing 253 hostages according to Israeli tallies, clashes have erupted between Israel and Iran-aligned groups based in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and Iraq.

Inside Gaza, Israel has launched a massive air and ground assault, with nearly 34,000 people confirmed killed, according to Palestinian medics, and thousands of others feared dead, still lost among the ruins.

This month, Israel abruptly pulled most of its troops out of southern Gaza, site of most of the heaviest fighting since the start of the year.

Fighting in recent days has been focused in central Gaza, in the Nuseirat refugee camp north of Deir al-Balah, one of the few areas that Israeli troops have yet to storm. Israeli forces retreated from the camp late on Wednesday, residents and some Israeli media said.

At a hospital morgue in Deir al-Balah, members of the al-Nouri family bellowed in sorrow and anger over bodies in body bags, several the size of small children, in video obtained by Reuters. Authorities said 11 people had been killed in an Israeli strike on the family home on Tuesday.

“Oh people of the world, what is happening is wrong! Have mercy on us! Stop the war!… Children are dying in the streets!” a man cried inside the crowded hospital.

In the southern city of Rafah, an Israeli airstrike on a house killed seven Palestinians, including a woman and three children, medics said.

Elsewhere, Hamas media reported Israeli forces had withdrawn from Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza after a 36-hour raid there.

On Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, where cross-border battles between Israeli forces and the Iran-aligned Hezbollah movement pose an escalation risk, Hezbollah said it had launched missiles and drones at a military facility in northern Israel in retaliation for Israeli strikes that killed Hezbollah members.

Israel said 14 of its soldiers were hurt in the incident, six of them seriously.

Israel says it will discuss a pause to free hostages but will not stop fighting until Hamas is wiped out; Hamas says it will not release hostages without a truce leading to an end to the war.

Qatar, which has served as mediator, said negotiations were at a delicate phase. It later said it was re-evaluating its own role as mediator, citing concerns that its efforts were being undermined by those pursuing “narrow political interests”.

With the prospect of famine looming, the United States and Israel say access for aid has improved this month. But aid agencies say supplies of food and medicine are still too paltry to stave off disaster.

“Across Gaza, a man-made famine is tightening its grip,” Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA told the 15-member UN Security Council. “In the north, infants and young children have begun to die of malnutrition and dehydration. Across the border, food and clean water wait.”

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US president Joe Biden criticises Israeli PM Netanyahu’s approach to Gaza conflict, calls for ceasefire

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s approach to the war in Gaza is a “mistake,” US President Joe Biden said in an interview published on Tuesday, offering further criticism of Israel’s handling of the conflict.

“I think what he’s doing is a mistake. I don’t agree with his approach,” Biden said in comments to Univision, a US Spanish-language TV network.

Biden has also previously called Israel’s bombing in Gaza “indiscriminate” and its military actions “over the top.”

The White House said last week that the president, in a call with Netanyahu, threatened to make conditional US support for Israel’s offensive on it taking concrete steps to protect aid workers and civilians. That call followed an Israeli airstrike that killed seven staff of the aid group World Central Kitchen.

“What I’m calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into the country,” Biden said in Tuesday’s interview.

Israel’s military assault on Gaza has been the subject of mounting international criticism. Domestically, Biden has also faced months of protests from anti-war activists, Muslims and Arab Americans across the country, who have demanded a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and restrictions on US military assistance for Israel.

Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies. Israel’s subsequent military assault on Hamas-governed Gaza has killed over 33,000, according to the local health ministry, displaced nearly all of its 2.3 million population and led to genocide allegations that Israel denies. The coastal enclave also suffers widespread hunger.

Israel has received more US foreign aid than any other country since World War Two, although annual assistance has been dwarfed for two years by funding and military equipment sent to Ukraine since Russia’s 2022 invasion.

The United States has traditionally shielded Israel in the UN Security Council and vetoed three draft resolutions on the war in Gaza. It abstained last month when the Security Council demanded an immediate ceasefire.

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Israel buying 40,000 tents for Rafah evacuees, sets date for invasion of Hamas stronghold in southern Gaza: Report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Israel is buying 40,000 tents in anticipation of the evacuation of Rafah following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s announcement of a scheduled invasion of the southern Gaza city, which has drawn global condemnation, according to a media report.

According to Israeli officials, including reports from the Jerusalem Post, these tents will provide shelter for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who are expected to be evacuated from Rafah, a USA Today report said. More than 1 million people have sought refuge in the city after fleeing the devastating attacks in northern and central Gaza, it added.

The Israeli military has stated that multiple Hamas battalions are still present in Rafah and need to be eliminated to weaken Hamas, the USA Today report said. Global leaders, including US President Joe Biden and many others, have urged Israel to refrain from invading Rafah due to concerns about a potentially high civilian death toll.

Meanwhile, Turkey announced on Tuesday that it would restrict exports of various products, including jet fuel, to Israel until there is a ceasefire. Israel said it would respond with its own curbs.

Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, killing some 1,200 people. Since then, more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s Health Ministry.

Israel’s military has also lost around 600 soldiers since October 7, according to the government.

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Joe Biden tells Benjamin Netanyahu US support hinges on protecting civilians

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that US support for his war in Gaza depends on new steps to protect civilians, a shift in position for the American leader who has faced increased pressure to take a harder line against Israel amid mounting deaths.

The warning, delivered in a Thursday phone call between the two leaders, signaled that Biden is toughening his stance after an Israeli strike that killed seven people delivering food to displaced Palestinians in Gaza. Biden called the incident “unacceptable,” according to a White House description of the conversation.

Hours later, the prime minister’s office announced that the country’s security cabinet had authorized action to bolster assistance and “prevent a humanitarian crisis.”

Israel will allow the temporary delivery of aid to Gaza through the Ashdod and Erez checkpoints in Israel, according to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, which added that more Jordanian aid could flow through a crossing at Kerem Shalom. The decision, according to the statement, would also “ensure the continuation of the fighting and to achieve the goals of the war.”

Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said “We welcome the steps announced by the Israeli government tonight at the president’s request following his call with Prime Minister Netanyahu.”

The prime minister’s office has not released an account of the Biden-Netanyahu call, which came amid heightened tensions between the two men.

Biden said Israel must “announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers,” the White House said in a statement earlier Thursday. Biden said an “immediate” cease-fire is necessary to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza and urged Netanyahu to secure a deal in long-running, indirect negotiations with Hamas.

“He made clear that US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps,” according to the statement. “President Biden emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable.”

Biden did not specify when and how he might shift his approach to the Israel-Hamas war, which is in its sixth month and has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths. But his statement is the closest he has come to placing new requirements on US support for Israel’s military operations.

Earlier Thursday, Netanyahu vowed to press on with its war effort.

White House spokesman John Kirby declined to elaborate on what steps the US would take if Israel does not do more to protect civilians, including if Biden would withhold military assistance.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed during a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels that “if we don’t see the changes we need to see, there’ll be changes in our policy.” He did not detail the nature of those potential changes.

The US for weeks has urged Netanyahu to curb civilian deaths and has objected to a plan to invade the southern enclave of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians fled during Israel’s war with Hamas.

This week’s air strike on a convoy of workers from World Central Kitchen, a disaster relief group founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, signaled a breaking point for the White House.

Kirby said Thursday’s call, which he said lasted around 30 minutes and described as “direct” and “businesslike,” was scheduled in response to the bombing. Biden was “shaken by the attack” that killed the aid workers and “felt strongly” it was time to talk to Netanyahu, the spokesman said. It was their first call since mid-March.

Israel has said the strike inadvertently hit the aid workers and is conducting an investigation to determine how the strike occurred. Kirby said that probe is “close to complete.”

The president is facing mounting political pressure from progressives, as well as Arab- and Muslim-Americans, who object to his support for Israel’s war effort. The aid-worker attack prompted Democrats to issue fresh calls for placing conditions on American military backing for Israel.

Israel’s conduct of its war against Hamas, designated a terrorist group by the US and European Union, has also drawn criticism from Republican Donald Trump, who vocally supported Netanyahu during his presidency.

Trump in a Thursday interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt said Israel had to finish the war quickly and that it is “losing the PR war,” while declining to answer whether he still remains 100% behind Israel.

“You’ve got to get it over with, and you have to get back to normalcy. And I’m not sure that I’m loving the way they’re doing it, because you’ve got to have victory,” he said. “They shouldn’t be releasing tapes like that. They’re doing, that’s why they’re losing the PR war.”

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Netanyahu ”hurting Israel” by not preventing more civilian deaths in Gaza: US President Biden

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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US President Joe Biden said Saturday that he believes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “hurting Israel more than helping Israel” in how he is approaching its war against Hamas in Gaza.

The US leader expressed support for Israel’s right to pursue Hamas after the October 7 attack, but said of Netanyahu that “he must pay more attention to the innocent lives being lost as a consequence of the actions taken.” Biden has for months warned that Israel risks losing international support over mounting civilian casualties in Gaza, and the latest remarks in an interview with MSNBC’s Jonathan Capehart pointed to the increasingly strained relationship between the two leaders.

Biden said of the death toll in Gaza, “it’s contrary to what Israel stands for. And I think it’s a big mistake.” Biden said a potential Israeli invasion of the Gaza city of Rafah, where more than 1.3 million Palestinians are sheltering, is “a red line” for him, but said he would not cut off weapons like the Iron Dome missile interceptors which protect the Israeli civilian populace from rocket attacks in the region.

“It is a red line,” he said, when asked about Rafah, “but I’m never going to leave Israel. The defense of Israel is still critical, so there’s no red line I’m going to cut off all weapons so they don’t have the Iron Dome to protect them.” Biden said he was willing to make his case directly to the Israeli Knesset, its parliament, including by making another trip to the country. He travelled to Israel weeks after the October 7 attack. He declined to elaborate on how or whether such a trip might materialize.

The US leader had hoped to secure a temporary ceasefire before Ramadan begins this week, though that appears increasingly unlikely as Hamas has balked at a deal pushed by the US and its allies that would have seen fighting pause for about six weeks, the release of additional hostages held by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, and a surge in humanitarian aid into Gaza. Biden noted CIA Director Bill Burns is in the region currently trying to resurrect the deal.

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Benjamin Netanyahu says he’ll soon have plan for Rafah civilians

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he’ll have a “plan for action” in hand for moving the civilian population out of Rafah in the southern part of the Gaza Strip ahead of an offensive to “dismantle” remaining Hamas battalions.

“There is no disagreement with me and the US about the need to evacuate the population,” Netanyahu said in an interview broadcast Sunday with CBS’s “Face the Nation.”

Israel doesn’t need “prodding” by the US to shield Gaza civilians, he added. The plan will include how to “dismantle” remaining Hamas battalions, Netanyahu said. His office said in a social media post the country’s military “presented the War Cabinet with a plan for evacuating the population from the areas of fighting in the Gaza Strip, and with the upcoming operational plan.”

The Israeli leader said people now in Rafah, near the Egyptian border, would be directed north. “There’s room for them to go north of Rafah to the place that we’ve already finished fighting in,” Netanyahu said.

Much of Gaza has been devastated by Israeli air and ground bombardments since October, and most of the million or more civilians now sheltering in Rafah were moved from areas in the north.

Separately, Netanyahu said he couldn’t predict a timeline for a deal with Hamas on swapping Israeli hostages held in Gaza for Palestinian prisoners in Israel.

Israeli media reported that talks on Friday involving the Israeli delegation and representatives from the US, Egypt and Qatar had yielded a breakthrough.

Netanyahu told CBS that Hamas, which is considered a terrorist organization by the US and European Union, first needs to back off “delusional claims” which he didn’t specify.

An intense Israeli military operation in Rafah could take “a matter of weeks,” and Israel will proceed with it whether there’s a hostage/temporary cease-fire deal or not, Netanyahu said.

Separately, on CNN’s “State of the Union,” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the Biden administration had made it clear that all parties need to make every effort toward a temporary cease-fire.

“We are telling everyone, including the Israeli government, that it is our firm position that every effort be exercised to get to this agreement, and then we can move forward from there,” Sullivan said.

Israel has been attacking Hamas in Gaza for nearly five months, killing almost 30,000 there, according to the enclave’s Hamas-run health ministry. Meantime, conditions on the ground in Gaza are increasingly desperate.

Eighteen of 24 Hamas battalions have been destroyed since Israel’s campaign started after the Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel by Hamas operatives, in which 1,200 people were killed and 250 kidnapped.

Separately, US Central Command said Houthis launched a single anti-ship ballistic missile Saturday that likely targeted a tanker in the Gulf of Aden, which resulted in no damage or injuries after the missile impacted on the water. The US and its allies struck multiple targets in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Saturday, responding to increased attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea region by the Iran-backed militant group.

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