MOSCOW, April 6 US President Joe Biden delivered an ultimatum to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, threatening to stop helping Israel if he does not change the operation in the Gaza Strip, Axios portal reports, citing sources.
“President Biden issued an ultimatum to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a call on Thursday: he said that if Israel does not change its course in Gaza, then “we will no longer be able to help you,” the portal writes, citing three people familiar with it.
Biden did not specify what exactly he meant by the loss of American support, and did not mention in this context the possibility of stopping arms supplies to Israel, but sources say this was Biden's «toughest» conversation yet with Netanyahu «both in tone and content» since October 7.
On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Netanyahu told Biden that Israel, following the attack on World Central Kitchen (WCK) volunteers in the Gaza Strip, had agreed to adjust its fighting methods to ensure the protection of aid workers providing aid to Palestinian civilians.
On October 7, Israel was subjected to an unprecedented-scale rocket attack from the Gaza Strip as part of Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, announced by the military wing of the Palestinian Hamas movement. After this, the organization’s fighters entered the border areas in southern Israel, where they opened fire on both military and civilians, and also took more than 200 hostages. In Israel, according to the latest data from the authorities, about 1.2 thousand people were killed, this number includes civilians, soldiers, foreign citizens and workers, and it was also reported that more than 5 thousand were injured.
In response, the Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Iron Swords against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Within a few days, the Israeli military took control of all populated areas near the border with Gaza and began carrying out air strikes on targets, including civilians, in the strip. Israel also announced a complete blockade of the Gaza Strip: the supply of water, food, electricity, medicine, and fuel was stopped. At the end of October, the ground phase of the Israeli operation in the enclave began. Gaza City was surrounded by Israeli ground forces, and the enclave was effectively divided into southern and northern parts.
The death toll from Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip exceeded 33 thousand, and about 75.7 thousand people were injured, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported. Hamas claimed that there were about 200-250 hostages in the Gaza Strip. After the end of the truce, Israeli authorities announced that 126 Israelis and 11 foreigners remained hostage from Hamas, and 110 abducted were released.
The Russian Foreign Ministry called on the parties to stop hostilities. According to the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the settlement of the Middle East crisis is possible only on the basis of a “two-state” formula approved by the UN Security Council, which provides for the creation of an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders with its capital in East Jerusalem.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, related to the territorial interests of the parties, has been a source of tension and clashes in the region for many decades. A UN decision with the active role of the USSR in 1947 determined the creation of two states — Israel and Palestine, but only the Israeli one was created.