• In call with Netanyahu, Biden demands immediate ceasefire
• Conditions military aid to Tel Aviv with safety of aid workers, Palestinian civilians
• Jill Biden among ‘strongest voices’ calling for end to Gaza war: NYT report

WASHINGTON: The United States on Thursday issued its strongest public rebuke toward Israel since it launched an invasion of Gaza, seeking for the first time to leverage US aid to influence Israeli military behavior.

President Joe Biden, a staunch supporter of the Israeli offensive until now, called for an immediate ceasefire in a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, conditioning support for its offensive on concrete steps to address the safety of aid workers and Palestinian civilians.

The rebuke followed an attack on a World Central Kitchen charity convoy this week that killed seven food aid workers.

The White House had described Biden as outraged and heartbroken by the attack but, prior to Thursday’s call, the president had made no fundamental change in Washington’s steadfast support for Israel in its conflict against Palestinian Hamas militants.

During the call, Biden “underscored that an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilise and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians,” the White House said.

It said Biden “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”.

He “made clear that US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps,” the White House said in a statement.

The statement reflected a sharp change in Biden’s tone and, for what appears to be the first time, a set of strings atta­ched to continued US support. Biden staunchly supported Israel, even when other governments sought to put more pressure on it.

His comments marked the first time the US has suggested it would condition its continued support.

During a briefing with reporters after the call, White House spokesperson John Kirby declined to elaborate on what specific changes the US would make on its policy toward Israel and Gaza. He said Washington hopes to see an announcement of Israeli steps in the “coming hours and days”.

Jill Biden

US First Lady Jill Biden is reportedly one of the most ‘heartbroken’ by the civilian deaths in Gaza and has been urging her husband to end the war, the US media reported on Wednesday.

Quoting a participant at a Ramazan event that the president held on Tuesday, The New York Times reported that Mrs Biden was not happy with his backing for Israel.

The reports describe her as one of the strongest voices in the White House calling for an end to the war.

The reports also included a quote from the first lady’s communications director, Elizabeth Alexander, who said: “Just like the president, the first lady is heartbroken over the attacks on aid workers and the ongoing loss of innocent lives in Gaza. They both want Israel to do more to protect civilians.”

Earlier this week, Biden met Muslim community leaders — something the first lady reportedly said she disapproved of because of his support for Israel in the conflict, according to the New York Times.

One guest, Salima Suswell, the founder of the Black Muslim Leadership Council, said that President Biden recounted that his wife had been urging him to, “stop it, stop it now”.

CNN and some other media outlets reported that during the Iftar dinner, a guest confronted Mr. Biden, saying that his wife had asked him not to attend the meeting due to the president’s support for Israel.

In response, Mr. Biden stated that he understood because his own wife, Jill, had put pressure on him over the matter. Another guest, Palestinian American physician Thaer Ahmad, said he raised his voice over killings in Gaza and gave President Biden a note and a picture of an 8-year-old orphan from Rafah, which Israel intends to attack next. According to Dr. Ahmad, Mr. Biden responded, saying, “I understand”.

Pressure from Democrats

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers have also increased their pressure on Mr. Biden to do more to increase humanitarian aid and end the war. They are urging him to use the leverage afforded by the billions of dollars in US military aid to persuade Israel to stop its offensive now.

“I think we’re at that point,” Chris Coons, a Biden confidant and senator from the president’s home state of Delaware, told CNN.

If Israel begins its long-threatened full-scale offensive in the southern city of Rafah without plans for the 1.5 million people sheltering there, “I would vote to condition aid to Israel,” Mr Coons said. “I’ve never said that before, I’ve never been there before,” he added.

Another Democratic senator, Chris Murphy, who heads the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee on the Middle East, said that Israel “needs to pause military operations in Gaza right now.”

Yet another Democrat, Senator Elizabeth Warren, said that she would block the sale of F-15s to Israel after an Israeli strike killed seven aid workers.

In an interview with CNN, she said the US Congress had a “responsibility to act” and accused Israel of violating laws that require access to humanitarian relief.

“I hope this will be the moment where the president changes course,” said Chris Van Hollen, a Democratic Senator from Maryland.

“Netanyahu ignored the president’s requests, and yet we send 2,000-pound bombs with no restrictions on their use,” he added.

Biden, who has described himself as a Zionist, supported Israel staunchly in the early days of its retaliation. But as the Gaza death toll rose and the war widened with new fronts in Lebanon and Yemen emerging, his administration began pushing for a ceasefire and urging humanitarian aid access. Last month, the US abstained from a UN Security Council vote demanding a ceasefire, drawing Israeli anger.

Biden also faces deep Democratic anger over his handling of the Gaza war, a dynamic that could depress support in November’s election contest against Republican former president Donald Trump.

Laura Blumenfeld, a Middle East analyst at the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies in Washington, said the strike on WCK aid workers “was the last straw.” “This call was the long-promised ‘come to Jesus conversation’ that Biden said last month he would have with Netanyahu,” Blumenfeld said.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2024