In his most overt indication of potential limitations on military assistance, President Joe Biden forewarned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that US policy toward Israel hinges on the safety of civilians in Gaza following an Israeli raid that claimed the lives of seven charity workers.
In their first statement following the killings of the World Central Kitchen group employees in the US on Monday, Biden also demanded a “immediate ceasefire” in response to the “unacceptable” attack and the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.
According to a readout of the call from the White House, 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.”
“He made it clear that our evaluation of Israel’s prompt implementation of these steps will dictate US policy about Gaza.
A key Biden confidant had earlier urged him to use the leverage afforded by the vast military aid that Washington gives Israel, something Biden has resisted for the past six months.
Chris Coons, a Democratic senator from the president’s home state of Delaware, told CNN. If Israel began its long-threatened full-scale offensive in the southern city of Rafah without plans for some 1.5 million people sheltering there, “I would vote to condition aid to Israel,” Coons said.
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