Netanyahu faces threats from Biden to change US policy

President Joe Biden said he might only help Israel with its attack on Gaza if they do more to protect aid workers and civilians. This is the first time the US has tried to use its help to make Israel change how its military acts.

Biden told Prime Minister Netanyahu that there could be consequences for US aid to Israel after a deadly attack on aid workers. This made other Democrats want to put conditions on the aid. Israel admitted that the attack was a mistake.

The United States The president, who has always supported Israel, has refused to stop giving them help or to stop sending them weapons, even when people tried to make him. This was the first time he warned that he might make aid depend on certain conditions. This could change how the nearly six-month-old war is going.

Biden told Israel to take specific steps to help civilians and aid workers, the White House said about their phone call. The phone call lasted for 30 minutes.

The president said that the US will decide how to deal with Gaza based on what Israel does next.

Washington gives Israel lots of weapons and the Biden administration has mostly protected it from criticism at the United Nations.

At a meeting after the phone call, White House spokesperson John Kirby said he would not give more details about any specific changes the US might make in its policy toward Israel and Gaza.

He said Washington wants to see Israel make an announcement about what it will do soon.

Biden said the US might change its policy towards Gaza if Israel doesn’t improve the living conditions there. He felt frustrated and was under pressure from his fellow Democrats to stop the violence and help the people who are hungry and suffering in Gaza.

When asked about possible changes in US policy, Netanyahu’s spokesperson Tal Heinrich said, “I think it’s something that Washington will have to clarify. ”

Later, the White House said it was good that Israel opened the Ashdod port and Erez crossing to send more humanitarian aid and to bring deliveries from Jordan straight to Gaza.

But Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the White House, says that these steps need to be put into action quickly and completely.

On Monday, Israel attacked and killed seven workers from the World Central Kitchen group, which was started by famous chef Jose Andres. Andres said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday that the Israeli attack had aimed at his aid workers one by one, destroying their vehicles.

Israel announced on Thursday that it will change its strategies in the Gaza war after saying the attack was a mistake. They also said they will share the investigation results soon.

The White House said that Biden was very upset and saddened by the attack. But before Thursday, the president didn’t change his strong support for Israel in its fight against Palestinian Hamas militants.

During the call, Biden emphasized the need for a quick ceasefire to help the humanitarian situation and keep innocent people safe. This is according to the White House. Biden asked Netanyahu to let his negotiators make a deal to bring back the hostages taken by Hamas in October. 7 attacks caused the Israeli army to start fighting.

In Brussels, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said Israel needs to help more by giving humanitarian aid and making sure aid workers are safe.

“If we don’t see the changes we need, we will change our policy,” Blinken told the media.

A person from the US government said that any changes in policy only affect the US government’s request for Israel to protect and help civilians, not the urgency for a ceasefire from Biden.

‘The final limit’

Hamas fighters from Palestine attacked Israel on Oct. 7 people were killed, 1,200 people died and 253 hostages were taken, as reported by Israel.

Israel fought back by cutting off all supplies to Gaza and then attacking from the air and on the ground. This has resulted in the deaths of over 33,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities in Gaza. Biden, who says he strongly supports Israel, gave a lot of support to Israel when it first started fighting back.

However, as more people died in Gaza and the war expanded to other places like Lebanon and Yemen, his government started to work towards stopping the fighting and giving people access to help. In the previous month, the US chose not to vote in a United Nations Security Council meeting that asked for a ceasefire. This made Israel very upset.

Biden is also dealing with strong feelings from Democrats about how he handled the Gaza war. This might make people less likely to support him in the November election against Trump.

Laura Blumenfeld, who knows a lot about the Middle East, said the attack on WCK aid workers was the final thing that made her very upset.

“This was the conversation that Biden promised to have with Netanyahu last month,” Blumenfeld said.