The phone call between the leaders came as Israel appeared poised for a ground offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza, where an Israeli blockade had cut off basic necessities to the crowded enclave.
“President Biden affirmed his support for all efforts to protect civilians,” the White House said in a statement about the phone call between the leaders, which did not specifically mention Gaza.
“President Biden discussed with Prime Minister Netanyahu US coordination with the United Nations, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, and others in the region to ensure innocent civilians have access to water, food, and medical care,” the White House said.
Biden also spoke Saturday with Palestinian Authority leader Mahmud Abbas, and underscored Palestinians’ “right to dignity and self-determination,” the White House said.
“Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination,” Biden told Abbas, according to a White House statement about the conversation between the two leadersBiden in the call also pledged “full support” to the Palestinian Authority in its efforts to bring humanitarian assistance to Palestinians, “particularly in Gaza.””President Biden offered President Abbas and the Palestinian Authority his full support for these important and ongoing efforts,” the statement said.
A week of deadly Israeli salvos was sparked by a Hamas raid which saw fighters break through the heavily fortified border between the Gaza Strip and Israel and gun down, stab and burn to death more than 1,300 people.
In Gaza, health officials said Israel’s response had killed more than 2,200 people. As on the Israeli side, most of them were civilians.
With food, water, fuel and medical supplies running low in Gaza, aid agencies are warning of an impending humanitarian crisis.
