Washington:
US President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday that a major ground offensive in Gaza's Rafah would be a “mistake” as the two leaders spoke for the first time in a month amid rising tensions.
Netanyahu had also agreed to Biden's request to send a delegation of senior Israeli officials to Washington to discuss Israel's Rafah plans and a possible “alternative approach,” the White House said.
But in a sign of the increasingly troubled relationship, Netanyahu said he had urged Biden to achieve all Israeli war objectives against Hamas, the Palestinian militant group behind the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.
The pair last spoke on February 15, and Biden has been increasingly vocal in his criticism of the Palestinian death toll and the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, where the UN has warned of famine.
Biden was recently caught in a stirring microphone moment when he said he would have a “come to Jesus” meeting with the Israeli prime minister as his frustration with Netanyahu grew.
“The president explained why he is so deeply concerned about the prospect of Israel conducting major military operations in Rafah,” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told a briefing on Monday.
“A major ground operation there would be a mistake; it would lead to more innocent civilian deaths, worsen an already dire humanitarian crisis, deepen anarchy in Gaza, and further isolate Israel internationally,” Sullivan said.
Biden had asked Netanyahu to send a senior team of military, intelligence and aid officials to Washington to “hear US concerns” about the current Rafah plan – and to discuss an “alternative approach” involving targeted strikes on Hamas.
Netanyahu agreed to “have this discussion and this engagement,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan described the call as “business-like.” Explaining why the two leaders had not spoken for 32 days, Sullivan said Biden reserves his calls to Netanyahu for “when he believes there is an important strategic moment.”
– 'War Objectives' –
Biden has supported Israel since the October 7 attacks and visited the country shortly afterwards, and the United States has continued to provide billions of dollars in aid to its key ally.
But Biden has become increasingly vocal in his criticism of the Palestinian death toll and the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. Democrats fear growing opposition at home could hurt his chances in November's presidential election.
Netanyahu said in a statement after the call that he had reiterated “Israel's commitment to achieving all the objectives of the war.”
The Israeli prime minister cited as objectives the elimination of Hamas, the release of all hostages and “ensuring that Gaza will never pose a threat to Israel.”
He also pointed to the provision of “essential humanitarian assistance that will help achieve these objectives.”
Israel began brutal bombing in Gaza, alongside a ground offensive, after the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, which left about 1,160 dead in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official figures.
The militants also seized hostages, of whom Israel says about 130 remain in Gaza, including 33 believed to be dead.
Nearly 32,000 people, most of them women and children, have been killed in Gaza since the war began, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-held area.
As tensions with Netanyahu escalated, Biden emphatically praised a “good speech” by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer last week in which he called for new elections in Israel.
With the UN warning of an impending famine in Gaza, Biden earlier this month ordered the US military to air-drop food into the enclave, and is sending US troops to build a temporary port for maritime aid.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)