Biden and Netanyahu speak as a senior official says the president’s anger with Israel has hit a peak.
President Biden spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Thursday, three days after international aid workers were killed in an Israeli strike, as senior American officials said his frustration over Israel’s actions in Gaza was coming to a head.
Mr. Biden’s anger and frustration over Israel’s conduct in the war has hit a peak in recent weeks, said a senior administration official who discussed the planned phone call and was not authorized to speak publicly. On Tuesday, the president said he was “outraged and heartbroken” by the previous day’s strike in Gaza that killed seven humanitarian workers, including an American, who had been trying to bring food aid to civilians.
It was not immediately clear what, if any, changes in U.S. policy toward Israel would accompany the sharp criticism and anger from Mr. Biden and his top officials. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III also expressed outrage in a call on Wednesday with his counterpart Yoav Gallant, Israel’s defense minister, according to the Pentagon.
Asked about what consequences for Israel would follow the statements of indignation, John F. Kirby, a White House national security spokesman, said it was too soon to say, as Israel was still investigating the strike.
“I’m not prepared at this point to speculate about anything we might or might not do. You know, we’re going to have to wait to see what the investigation says,” Mr. Kirby told reporters in Washington. “We are still supporting Israel’s ability to defend itself against this still-viable threat. And that’s going to continue.”
World Central Kitchen, the organization behind the convoy that was attacked, said in a statement on Thursday that it was calling for an independent third-party investigation into the strike that killed its workers. The group urged the governments of Australia, Britain, Canada, the United States and Poland, whose citizens were among the victims, to join in demanding an outside inquiry.
