Joe Biden urged Benjamin Netanyahu to minimize civilian casualties in the operation in the Gaza Strip in response to last Saturday’s horrific Hamas attack, the bloodiest suffered by Israel in 50 years. US administration sources made this known to NBCnews after yesterday’s phone call between the two leaders, also specifying that the United States is coordinating a plan to offer passage to civilians outside Gaza who are at risk of becoming trapped in the conflict. According to the plan, a humanitarian corridor to Egypt would serve as an escape route for Palestinian civilians, who have no links to Hamas, who are at risk of being killed or left homeless in the ground operation that Israel is preparing in the Strip. . In this regard, sources from the North American broadcaster explain that the president would have been “more direct than in the past” when asking the Israeli prime minister that the army adopt measures to avoid civilian casualties. Biden’s message therefore suggests that the White House fears a possible backlash if Israel appears to use excessive force resulting in the deaths of women, children and non-combatants.
Biden’s warning, however, did not appear publicly, at least directly, neither in the statement released by the White House by telephone, nor in the speech that the president gave shortly afterwards at the White House in which he reiterated that “like every other nation in the world, Israel has the right, and in fact has the duty, to respond to these terrible attacks.” The statement then specifies that Biden, in conversation with Netanyahu, “detailed that US support has arrived or is arriving, with ammunition, interceptors for the Iron Dome, the world’s largest aircraft carrier and other defense material.”
In his speech, Biden said that “if the United States had suffered what Israel is suffering, our response would have been swift, decisive and overwhelming.” But then he added, referring to the phone call with Netanyahu: “We discussed how democracies like Israel and the United States are strong and more secure when they act based on the rule of law. Terrorists purposely target civilians, kill them. We respect the laws of war – the declarations of the number one American – that’s what matters.” The US increased pressure on Israel.
Source: IL Tempo

John Cameron is a journalist at The Nation View specializing in world news and current events, particularly in international politics and diplomacy. With expertise in international relations, he covers a range of topics including conflicts, politics and economic trends.