President Joe Biden warned on Thursday to condition backing for Israel’s attack in Gaza on specific efforts to safeguard humanitarian workers and civilians, attempting for the first time to use U.S. aid to influence Israeli military behaviour.
Biden’s warning, delivered during a discussion with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, came in the wake of a deadly Israeli attack on World Central Kitchen relief workers, which prompted increased calls from Biden’s Democratic colleagues to impose restrictions on US funding to Israel. Israel said the strike was a mistake.
The US president, a lifetime admirer of Israel, has rejected calls to cut funds or halt the flow of weaponry to the nation. His warning was the first time he has vowed to condition aid, a development that might shift the course of the almost six-month-old conflict.
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,” according to the White House. It stated that the call lasted around 30 minutes.
The president “made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps,” according to the White House.
Washington is Israel’s primary arms supplier, and the Biden administration has primarily served as a diplomatic shield for the country at the UN.
At a post-call briefing, White House spokesperson John Kirby declined to expound on any particular changes to the United States policy toward Israel and Gaza.
He said Washington expected an announcement of Israeli actions in the “coming hours and days.”
By implying that a shift in US policy toward Gaza was possible if Israel did not address the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave, Biden channelled his frustration as well as mounting pressure from his Democratic Party’s left-leaning political base to end the killings and alleviate hunger among innocent civilians.
When asked about potential changes in US policy, Netanyahu spokesman Tal Heinrich told Fox News, “I think it’s something Washington will have to explain.”
On Monday, Israel launched an attack that murdered seven employees of the World Central Kitchen organization, owned by famous chef Jose Andres. In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Andres said that the Israeli strike targeted his charity workers “systematically, car by car.”
Israel stated on Thursday that it will alter its tactics in the Gaza battle after presenting the incident as the product of a misidentification and that the investigation’s results will be made public shortly.
The White House portrayed Biden as appalled and grieved by the incident, but before Thursday’s talk, the president had made no significant shift in Washington’s staunch backing for Israel in its fight with Palestinian Hamas terrorists.
During the discussion, Biden “emphasized the importance of an immediate ceasefire to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians,” according to the White House. Biden encouraged Netanyahu to empower his negotiators to reach an agreement to return captives kidnapped by Hamas in the deadly Oct. 7 incident that precipitated the Israeli offensive, the statement continued.
In Brussels, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Israel “must meet this moment” by increasing humanitarian help and assuring the safety of those who offer it.
“If we don’t see the necessary changes, we’ll change our policy,” Blinken told reporters.
Maria Ghanchi