Biden to speak to Netanyahu amid reports US president is furious over Gaza aid convoy strike – live
"‘Temperature … is very high’, reports say as US president is due to talk to Israeli PM for first time since attack; Jill Biden said to be pushing Biden to stop war now
Austin expressed 'outrage' over Gaza aid convoy strike in call with Israel
Defense secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, in a phone call yesterday in which he expressed his “outrage” over the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) strike on Monday that killed seven aid workers trying to deliver much-needed food to Gaza.
A readout of the call, published last night by the Pentagon’s press secretary, Maj Gen Patrick Ryder, states:
Secretary Austin expressed his outrage at the Israeli strike on a World Central Kitchen humanitarian aid convoy that killed seven aid workers, including an American citizen. Secretary Austin stressed the need to immediately take concrete steps to protect aid workers and Palestinian civilians in Gaza after repeated coordination failures with foreign aid groups.
Austin also urged Gallant to conduct a “swift and transparent investigation, to share their conclusions publicly, and to hold those responsible to account”, it said.
Austin’s comments on Wednesday marked a significant change in tone from previous callsbetween the US and Israeli defense ministers, and comes after the pair held talks last week in Washington in what the Pentagon later described as a frank and direct discussion.
Good morning US politics readers. Joe Biden and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, are expected to hold their first call since Israeli airstrikes that killed seven aid workers in Gaza on Monday.
Biden, in a statement the following day, said he was “outraged and heartbroken” by the deaths of the World Central Kitchen (WCK) humanitarian workers, who included an American-Canadian dual citizen, and is fully prepared to make his feelings clear to Netanyahu in their conversation today, CNN reported, citing a senior administration official. The president “is pissed. The temperature regarding Bibi is very high,” an official told Axios.
Biden’s criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza, where authorities say more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed since 7 October, has grown over recent weeks and his frustration with Netanyahu has become increasingly visible. The president has faced increasing pressure over his handling of the war, including from the first lady, Jill Biden,who reportedly pleaded with her husband to “stop it, stop it now”. Meanwhile, defense secretary Lloyd Austin “expressed his outrage” at the aid convoy strike in a call on Wednesday with his counterpart, Israeli defense minister Yoav Gallant, according to the Pentagon.
The Biden administration, however, has continued to affirm its support of Israel in the wake of the Israeli drone strike, and Biden has shown no signs of trying to restrict or withhold US military aid to Israel. Just this week it was reported that the administration is close to approving a major new weapons sale to Israel worth more than $18bn that will include up to 50 US-made F-15 fighter jets."
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