WASHINGTON/Xinhua
US President Joe Biden today warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that future US support for Israel will depend on Israel’s measures to protect civilians in Gaza.
During an important phone conversation, Biden stressed to Netanyahu that Israeli attacks on humanitarian workers delivering aid in Gaza and “the broader humanitarian situation” in Gaza are unacceptable, according to a transcript of the conversation released by the White House.
Biden “made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete and quantifiable measures to address harm to civilians, humanitarian suffering and the safety of humanitarian workers,” the transcript stated.
According to the transcript, the president “made clear that United States policy toward Gaza will be determined in accordance with our assessment of Israel’s immediate actions regarding these measures.”
Biden also urged Netanyahu to both implement “an immediate ceasefire” with Hamas and “conclude without delay the agreement to return the hostages home,” the transcript added.
The conversation was the first between the two leaders after Israeli forces carried out an airstrike on Monday that killed seven members of the humanitarian group World Central Kitchen (WCK) who were on their way to distribute food to civilians in Gaza. The attack sparked international condemnation.
In a statement Tuesday, Biden said he was “outraged and heartbroken” by the deaths of the WCK humanitarian workers.
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