US President Biden and Israeli PM Netanyahu hold first call after aid workers attack; address humanitarian suffering

American President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold their first phone discussion on Thursday since the Israeli strikes killed the employees of the US-based charity World Central Kitchen, the White House said.

The two leaders talked about steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workers. Biden told Netanyahu that “US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.”.

“He 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,” the White House said in a statement following the leaders call.

In a call lasting less then 30 minutes, Biden also told Netanyahu that an immediate ceasefire was essential and asked Israel “to conclude a deal without delay” with Hamas to bring Israeli hostages home, after nearly six months of the Palestinian militant group attack.

Israel has taken responsibility for the strikes on Monday that resulted in the deaths of seven workers affiliated with the World Central Kitchen. However, Israel maintains that the convoy was not deliberately targeted and the fatalities were unintentional. The country is currently conducting an investigation into the incident to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the deaths.

The strikes, which included a dual US-Canadian citizen among the casualties, have prompted significant backlash within the Biden administration, despite its continued support for Israel. President Biden explicitly criticized Israel for failing to safeguard aid workers and civilians in Gaza, expressing outrage over the deaths and emphasizing that such incidents should not occur.

“This is not a stand-alone incident. This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed. This is a major reason why distributing humanitarian aid in Gaza has been so difficult – because Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians,” Biden had said.

The war in Gaza began on October 7th, last year, after militants led by Hamas infiltrated southern Israel, resulting in approximately 1,200 casualties, predominantly civilians, and hostages of around 250 people.

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