Biden says US support for war in Gaza depends on Israel’s conduct

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Joe Biden has warned Benjamin Netanyahu that US support for Israel’s war in Gaza depends on its efforts to address the humanitarian suffering in the enclave, as he called for an “immediate ceasefire” in the conflict.

The comments from the president marked his strongest signal that Washington’s backing for its ally’s offensive against Hamas now hinges on Israel lessening the war’s civilian toll — and his clearest call for an immediate halt in the fighting.

Biden’s message to the Israeli prime minister came in a telephone call on Thursday, just days after Israeli air strikes killed seven humanitarian workers delivering food aid in Gaza, where aid agencies have warned of imminent famine.

Biden said the strikes and overall humanitarian situation were “unacceptable”.

“He 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,” according to a White House account of the call.

“He made clear that US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps,” the statement continued.

Biden also “underscored that an immediate ceasefire is essential” to stabilise the humanitarian situation. He urged Netanyahu to “empower” Israeli negotiators to conclude a deal for the release of hostages held by Hamas, according to the White House.

Former president Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee in this year’s White House race, also urged a swift resolution to the war. He told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Thursday that the Jewish state was “absolutely losing the PR war” and urged Israel to “get it over with and let’s get back to peace and stop killing people”.

Biden’s call for an immediate ceasefire marked a shift from his earlier stance that a cessation to fighting must come alongside a hostage deal. The US continues to help facilitate the hostage talks, with CIA director Bill Burns involved, but the statement on Thursday indicated that it considers the onus is now on Israel to make concessions to secure a deal.

Senior administration officials did not rule out that the US could make further military assistance for Israel conditional on its conduct of the war — a step Biden has been reluctant to take.

“I am not going to preview decisions that haven’t been made yet,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said when asked about the possible conditioning for further lethal aid.

“What we want to see are some real changes on the Israeli side,” Kirby added. “If we don’t see change from their side, there’s going to have be changes from our side.”

Kirby added: “We’re looking to see . . . a dramatic increase in humanitarian assistance getting in, additional crossings opened up, a reduction in the violence against civilians and certainly aid workers.”

The Gaza Strip is in a deepening humanitarian crisis, with the UN warning that hundreds of thousands of people there face imminent famine.

Hamas launched a surprise assault on Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 people hostage, according to Israeli officials. Israel launched a massive military campaign in response, which has killed 33,000 people, according Palestinian officials.

Analysts said that while Biden on Thursday had come closer than before in setting conditions on US lethal aid for Israel, he was still likely unwilling to do so.

“Biden is hoping that he is not forced to enforce these red lines,” said Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Rising tensions on Israel’s border with Lebanon would also make the president wary of sending any signals that the US was backing away from its ally, he said.

“I just think with the Israeli-Lebanese front very tentative . . . that the administration would want to be extremely careful and very risk-averse in sending signals that not only are we prepared to condition aid but restrict aid,” Miller said.