by D. Michael DeRidder
President Joe Biden informed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a conversation yesterday that U.S. support for Israel would be conditioned if the IDF did not address the persistent military strikes on civilians in Gaza.
The pressure from Biden is in response to an attack on Monday that killed seven World Central Kitchen civilian workers — Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha from Palestine; Damian Sobol from Poland; Lalzawmi “Zomi” Frankcom from Australia; James Kirby, John Chapman, and James Henderson from the U.K.; and Jacob Flickinger, a U.S.-Canadian dual citizen.
The U.S. Embassy in Israel stated that Biden told Netanyahu Israel’s immediate actions would determine U.S. policy, announcing in a press release:
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. He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps.
In response to the meeting, Israel announced today two officers involved in the strike were dismissed. A former Major General, Yoav Har-Even, investigated the strike, telling reporters:
The state of mind at that time was that the humanitarian mission had ended and that they were tracking Hamas vehicles with one suspected gunman, at least one suspected gunman, that they misidentified to be inside one of the three cars.… They struck that car and then they identified people running out of the car and entering a second car, which is when they decided to strike the second car. Then two people left the second car and entered the third car, which is when they struck the third car.
During their conversation, Biden also urged Netanyahu to work toward a ceasefire, stating on X:
Today, I spoke with Prime Minister Netanyahu to emphasize that strikes on aid workers and the humanitarian situation in Gaza are unacceptable. Israel must implement steps to address civilian harm and the safety of workers — and work toward a ceasefire to bring hostages home.