Biden threatens Netanyahu to cut off US aid
US President Joe Biden (photo: Getty Images)
US President Joe Biden has threatened Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cut off US aid if there is another escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, reports Axios.
According to two US officials, on Thursday, Biden demanded during a "tough" phone call that Netanyahu stop escalating tensions in the region and immediately launch an agreement to release hostages in Gaza and a ceasefire.
The newspaper notes that the US president and his closest aides are deeply disappointed by the consequences of the Israeli assassinations in Beirut and Tehran, which took place a week after Netanyahu's first visit to the White House in four years.
US officials are not mourning the deaths of Hezbollah's top military commander, Fouad Shukr, who was involved in the 1983 massacre of 241 US Marines in Beirut, nor of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, who celebrated the October 7 massacre.
However, they believe that Netanyahu kept Biden in the dark about his plans for the killings, although last week he appeared to be attentive to the president's request to focus on reaching a deal on Gaza.
According to Axios, the Biden administration has placed a hostage and ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas at the center of its post-war strategy in the Middle East. The US president is personally involved in efforts to reach an agreement and considers it a key element of his legacy for the remaining six months of his term in office.
US officials said that on Thursday, Biden called Netanyahu to discuss joint US and Israeli military preparations for the actions of Iran and Hezbollah. The president also made it clear that he was dissatisfied with the direction chosen by the Israeli prime minister last week.
According to one US official, Biden complained to Netanyahu that last week they talked at the White House about reaching a hostage deal. Still, instead, Netanyahu committed a murder in Tehran.
The US president then told the Israeli prime minister that the country would help Israel repel an Iranian attack, but after that, Biden did not expect further escalation from Israel and immediate movement toward a hostage deal.
Biden also warned Netanyahu that he should not count on US assistance if the conflict escalates again.
According to Axios, the White House declined to comment.
The publication also added that during a personal meeting between Biden and Netanyahu in the Oval Office last Thursday, the US president raised his voice and told the Israeli prime minister that he needed to reach an agreement on Gaza as soon as possible.
Today it became known that Israel killed another Hamas commander and four Islamic Jihad fighters. According to the Israeli military, the first air strike hit a vehicle near the city of Tulkarm.
According to Hamas media, the vehicle carrying the fighters was shot down and one of the dead was the commander of the Tulkarm brigade.
The Israeli military also stated that a second strike was carried out a few hours later. It was aimed at another group of armed militants who fired at the troops during the counterterrorism operation in Tulkarm.
Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that Netanyahu plans to dismiss the heads of the IDF and Shabak Defense Ministries. The purpose of such steps is to eliminate the opposition to Netanyahu's negotiations on the return of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7.
