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Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu
Photo: REUTERS
Difficult phone call: US President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time after a long break in talks.
The exchange on Monday discussed the situation in the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip and humanitarian aid for the people there, the White House said.
According to his office, Netanyahu said: "We discussed the latest developments in the war, including Israel's commitment to achieving all of the war's objectives: the destruction of Hamas, the release of all of our hostages and the promise that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel The Israeli head of government said that transmitting the necessary humanitarian aid would help achieve these goals.
Biden and Netanyahu last spoke on the phone in mid-February.
After the massacre carried out by terrorists from Hamas and other extremist Palestinian organizations in Israel near the border with the Gaza Strip on October 7, the two politicians spoke to each other almost daily for a while.
Given the dire humanitarian situation and the many civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip, Washington's tone towards the Israeli leadership has sharpened significantly in recent weeks.
In an interview on the US television station MSNBC a week ago, Biden sharply criticized Israel's military actions in the Gaza war and, when asked, described a possible ground offensive in Rafah as a "red line."
Biden made it clear in the interview that he would under no circumstances give up military support for Israel or abandon its protection.
But he left room for speculation about what other consequences the US might have in response to a Rafah offensive.
Biden also directly attacked Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the interview and warned that another 30,000 Palestinians should not be allowed to die as a consequence of the crackdown on Hamas.
Netanyahu reacted angrily to the comments and rejected Biden's allegations.
dop/dpa