US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Monday that a major ground offensive in Gaza’s Rafah would be a “mistake,” as the two leaders spoke for the first time in a month amid growing tensions.
Netanyahu had also agreed to Biden’s request to send a delegation of senior Israeli officials to Washington to discuss Israel’s Rafah plans and a possible “alternative approach,” the White House said.
But in a sign of the increasingly difficult relationship, Netanyahu said that he had insisted to Biden on achieving all of Israel’s war aims against Hamas, the Palestinian militant group behind the October 7 attacks on Israel.
The pair last spoke on February 15, and Biden has been increasingly vocal in his criticisms of the Palestinian death toll and dire humanitarian situation in Gaza where the UN has warned of famine.
Biden was caught on a hot mic moment recently saying that he would have a “come to Jesus meeting” with the Israeli premier as his frustration grew with Netanyahu.
Biden had asked Netanyahu to send a senior team of military, intelligence, and aid officials to Washington to “hear US concerns” about the current Rafah plan — and discuss an “alternative approach” involving targeted raids on Hamas.
Netanyahu agreed to “have this discussion and this engagement,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan described the call as “businesslike.” Explaining why the two leaders had not spoken for 32 days, Sullivan said Biden reserves his calls for Netanyahu for “when he believes there is a key strategic moment.”
Netanyahu said in a statement after the call that he had reiterated “Israel’s commitment to achieving all of the war’s objectives.”
The Israeli premier cited the objectives as eliminating Hamas, release of all the hostages and “ensuring that Gaza will never present a threat to Israel.”
He also pointed to the provision of “essential humanitarian aid that helps achieve these aims.”
with AFP
