Israel team to visit US over Biden concerns on Rafah and Gaza ‘anarchy’
“We’ve had many discussions in many different levels between our military, our intelligence, our diplomats or humanitarian experts, but we have not yet had the opportunity to have an all-encompassing comprehensive, integrated, strategic discussion,” he said.
Israel checking whether it killed Hamas deputy military leader in Gaza
Sullivan also confirmed that Marwan Issa, the No 3 leader within Hamas’ ranks, was killed in an Israeli operation last week. Hamas has not commented.
The call was the first between the two leaders since February 15 and comes amid sharp tensions between Israel and its most steadfast ally over Netanyahu’s handling of the war in Gaza.
Netanyahu said the two men discussed Israel’s commitment to achieve all the targets it had set out for the war: eliminating Hamas, releasing all the hostages and ensuring Gaza would no longer pose a threat to Israel.
This would be done “while providing the necessary humanitarian aid that helps achieve those goals”, he said in a statement.
02:42
Israeli forces open fire on crowd of Palestinians seeking aid,, as Gaza death toll surpasses 30,000
Biden praised the speech the following day and said Schumer had echoed the concerns of many Americans.
Netanyahu responded harshly on Sunday, telling CNN in an interview that Schumer’s speech was “totally inappropriate”.
Netanyahu reaffirmed to a cabinet meeting on Sunday that Israeli forces would thrust into Rafah, the last relatively safe place in the tiny, crowded enclave, despite international pressure for Israel to avoid further civilian casualties.