President Biden warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Sunday that a ground offensive in southern Gaza should not proceed without a plan to protect the more than 1.4 million Palestinians clustered there, the latest sign of frustration by the White House over rising civilian deaths from IsraelтАЩs military assault.
During the call on Sunday, according to a description from the White House, the two leaders also discussed ongoing negotiations with Hamas to release Israeli hostages in Gaza in exchange for a cease-fire and the release of Palestinians being held in Israeli jails.
Last week, Mr. Netanyahu bluntly rejected as тАЬludicrousтАЭ a response from Hamas in the negotiations that called for IsraelтАЩs withdrawal from Gaza and the freeing of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of more than 100 Israeli hostages in Gaza.
But both American and Israeli officials have said subsequently that there is still room for compromise in the negotiations. A senior administration official who spoke about Mr. Biden and Mr. NetanyahuтАЩs call on the condition of anonymity expressed optimism about the state of the talks, adding that they would continue over the next week to address тАЬsignificant gapsтАЭ between the two sides.
тАЬThe president emphasized the need to capitalize on progress made in the negotiations to secure the release of all hostages as soon as possible,тАЭ according to the White House statement. тАЬHe also called for urgent and specific steps to increase the throughput and consistency of humanitarian assistance to innocent Palestinian civilians.тАЭ
Mr. Biden has strongly supported IsraelтАЩs decision to retaliate for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas that killed an estimated 1,200 people. But as the White House faces rising pressure from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party over the administrationтАЩs support of IsraelтАЩs military, Mr. BidenтАЩs criticism has grown increasingly blunt. On Thursday, he said IsraelтАЩs military operations in Gaza were тАЬover the top.тАЭ
The comments were another indication of increasing frustration in the White House with Mr. Netanyahu over the soaring number of civilian deaths in Gaza, where more than 27,000 people have been killed, according to health authorities in the strip run by Hamas. Mr. Netanyahu, who is focused on appealing to the far-right flank of his coalition to maintain his hold on power, has also rejected the Biden administrationтАЩs call for a two-state solution after the war.
The White House has said on multiple occasions in recent days that it does not support Mr. NetanyahuтАЩs likely invasion of Rafah, which sits on the border with Egypt. More than half of GazaтАЩs 2.2 million people are now sheltering in the city, many of them displaced after the Israeli military told them to flee south to avoid the war in the north.
Mr. Biden on Sunday тАЬreaffirmed his view that a military operation in Rafah should not proceed without a credible and executable plan for ensuring the safety of and support for the more than one million people sheltering there,тАЭ according to the White House.
In an interview with ABC News that aired on Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu said, without giving specifics, that Israel was тАЬworking out a detailed planтАЭ to move Gazans north of Rafah. Egypt has already said it will not accept Palestinians who try to cross the border.
Mr. Biden is expected to discuss the war again on Monday when he hosts King Abdullah II of Jordan at the White House.
