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WASHINGTON: The US issued its strongest public rebuke toward Israel on Thursday since the start of its war with Hamas, warning that American policy on Gaza will be determined by whether Israel takes steps to address the safety of Palestinian civilians and aid workers.
President Joe Biden told Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu Israel must take immediate action to reduce civilian harm and suffering, the White House said after the two leaders spoke by phone.Biden also told Netanyahu, in a call lasting less then 30 minutes, that an immediate ceasefire in the region was essential and called on Israel “to conclude a deal without delay” with Hamas to bring Israeli hostages home, nearly six months after the Palestinian militant group’s Oct. 7 attack.
The White House statement reflected a sharp change in Biden’s tone and, for what appears to be the first time, a set of strings attached to continued US support. By suggesting a shift in US policy toward Gaza was possible if Israel did not address the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave, Biden channelled his own frustration along with mounting pressure from his left-leaning political base to stop the killings and alleviate hunger among innocent civilians.
Biden “made clear the need for Israel to 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 its statement.
Separately, in Brussels, US secretary of state Antony Blinken called on Israel, as a democracy, to place the highest value on human life and increase the flow of aid to Gaza, adding that this week’s “horrific attack” on aid workers in Gaza must be the last such incident.
On Monday, Israel launched an attack that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza. The White House has described Biden as outraged and heartbroken by the attack but, prior to Thursday’s call, the president had made no fundamental change in Washington’s steadfast support for Israel in its conflict against Palestinian Hamas militants.
But the White House statement stopped short of directly saying the president would halt arms supplies or impose conditions for their use, as more and more Democrats have urged him to do. Just this week, on Monday, the Democratic administration’s “Daily List” of munitions transfers, included the sale to Israel of more than 1,000 500-pound (225-kilograms) bombs and more than 1,000 1,000-pound (450-kilogram) bombs. The president has long resisted leveraging arms to influence Israel’s conduct of the war, with aides arguing that many of the munitions sent are air defence missiles.
Celebrity chef Jose Andres told Reuters in an emotional interview on Wednesday that the Israeli attack had targeted his aid workers “systematically, car by car”. Israel said on Thursday it would adjust tactics in the Gaza war after describing the attack as the result of a misidentification, and that inquiry findings would be made public soon. The White House has said the US has no plans to conduct its own investigation.
President Joe Biden told Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu Israel must take immediate action to reduce civilian harm and suffering, the White House said after the two leaders spoke by phone.Biden also told Netanyahu, in a call lasting less then 30 minutes, that an immediate ceasefire in the region was essential and called on Israel “to conclude a deal without delay” with Hamas to bring Israeli hostages home, nearly six months after the Palestinian militant group’s Oct. 7 attack.
The White House statement reflected a sharp change in Biden’s tone and, for what appears to be the first time, a set of strings attached to continued US support. By suggesting a shift in US policy toward Gaza was possible if Israel did not address the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave, Biden channelled his own frustration along with mounting pressure from his left-leaning political base to stop the killings and alleviate hunger among innocent civilians.
Biden “made clear the need for Israel to 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 its statement.
Separately, in Brussels, US secretary of state Antony Blinken called on Israel, as a democracy, to place the highest value on human life and increase the flow of aid to Gaza, adding that this week’s “horrific attack” on aid workers in Gaza must be the last such incident.
On Monday, Israel launched an attack that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza. The White House has described Biden as outraged and heartbroken by the attack but, prior to Thursday’s call, the president had made no fundamental change in Washington’s steadfast support for Israel in its conflict against Palestinian Hamas militants.
But the White House statement stopped short of directly saying the president would halt arms supplies or impose conditions for their use, as more and more Democrats have urged him to do. Just this week, on Monday, the Democratic administration’s “Daily List” of munitions transfers, included the sale to Israel of more than 1,000 500-pound (225-kilograms) bombs and more than 1,000 1,000-pound (450-kilogram) bombs. The president has long resisted leveraging arms to influence Israel’s conduct of the war, with aides arguing that many of the munitions sent are air defence missiles.
Celebrity chef Jose Andres told Reuters in an emotional interview on Wednesday that the Israeli attack had targeted his aid workers “systematically, car by car”. Israel said on Thursday it would adjust tactics in the Gaza war after describing the attack as the result of a misidentification, and that inquiry findings would be made public soon. The White House has said the US has no plans to conduct its own investigation.
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