US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, the White House said. It was the leaders' first conversation in seven weeks. Reuters reported that the White House host urged Netanyahu to minimize harm to civilians in Lebanon, especially in populated areas of Beirut, while reaffirming support for attacks on Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah fighters.
“The connection between Washington and Jerusalem lasted about 50 minutes,” the Times of Israel reported.
Reuters, citing information from the White House, reported that Joe Biden “called” Benjamin Netanyahu to minimize harm to the civilian population in Lebanonespecially in populated areas of Beirut, while reaffirming support for attacks on Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah fighters.
On the Gaza Strip, leaders discussed “the urgent need to resume diplomacy to release the hostages held by Hamas.”
Biden also spoke about the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the need to “immediately revitalize” the humanitarian corridor Jordan.
The situation in the Middle East is becoming more and more tense
Last week Iran fired a salvo of approximately 200 ballistic missiles at Israel in retaliation for the killing of the leaders of Hamas, Hezbollah and one of the commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. Most of the missiles were shot down. Israel announced retaliation. Iran announced that it would respond to the Israeli attack.
The situation in the Middle East is the tense it has been in months. Israel continues airstrikes and ground attacks in Lebanon, declaring that the target is Iran-backed Hezbollah. USA, France and other countries are calling for de-escalation, fearing the outbreak of a regional conflict involving Iran. United States at the same time, they increased their military presence in the Middle East and helped Israel shoot down Iranian missiles.
Joe Biden and Kamala HarrisPAP/EPA/SHAWN THEW
Biden had already announced that he would not support an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities and called on the authorities in Jerusalem to take “proportionate action against Iran.”
Tense relations between the US and Israel
“Wednesday's conversation between Biden and Netanyahu delayed the visit of Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant to Washington, scheduled for Tuesday, where he was supposed to talk to his counterpart Lloyd Austin. Netanyahu forced Galant to postpone his visit in order to talk to the US leader first,” the Haaretz daily reported. Galant is considered Netanyahu's biggest opponent in the government, which at the same time remains in good relations with the American side, including Austin.
“Relations between the United States and Israel, which remain in close alliance, have recently become increasingly tense,” said the Washington Post on Wednesday. American officials complain that the Israelis did not warn them about their actions, including the airstrikes on Beirut or the blowing up of Hezbollah's pagers, and they also believe that Israel disregards US diplomatic efforts and does not take into account their advice aimed at stopping the outbreak of a regional conflict, the newspaper calculated.
Journalist reveals
On Tuesday, the media revealed fragments of Bob Woodward's unpublished book “War”, which, among other things, describes the backstage of key moments regarding war in Ukraine and Gaza Strip. According to the journalist's account, “Biden was frustrated by the actions and attitude of Israel and Netanyahu himself, who allegedly deceived him regularly.” The US president also allegedly told the Israeli prime minister that “he has no strategy towards Hamas, shouted at him when he carried out an attack on one of Hezbollah's top military commanders, and privately called him a liar and a bad guy.”
Benjamin NetanyahuPAP/EPA/OHAD ZWIGENBERG / POOL
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