US President Joe Biden privately demanded in his "tough" call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that he stop escalating tensions in the region and move immediately toward a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, two US officials told Axios’ Barak Ravid on Friday.
US officials told Axios that Biden called Netanyahu to discuss US-Israeli joint military preparations for retaliations by Iran and Hezbollah — but also to make clear he was not pleased with the direction the Prime Minister has taken in the last week.
One US official said Biden complained to Netanyahu that the two had just spoken last week in the Oval Office about securing the hostage deal, but instead Netanyahu went ahead with the elimination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. Israel has not commented on Hamas’ allegations that it was behind Haniyeh’s elimination.
Biden then told Netanyahu the US will help Israel defeat an Iranian attack, but after that he expects no more escalation from the Israeli side and immediate movement toward a hostage deal, the US official said.
Biden also warned Netanyahu that if he escalates again, he shouldn't count on the US to bail him out, the US official added.
The White House declined to comment. The Prime Minister's Office said in a statement, "Prime Minister Netanyahu told President Biden that he appreciates the American support, and as Prime Minister of Israel he acts solely according to the security needs of the State of Israel."
Asked on Thursday night about his conversation with Netanyahu, Biden told reporters he had “a direct conversation” with Netanyahu and that he had urged him to quickly reach a deal for the release of the hostages and a ceasefire in Gaza.
Biden added that he is “very concerned” about the tensions in the Middle East.
He also told reporters that the elimination of Haniyeh was not helpful for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The US has been pushing a three-phase proposal for a ceasefire and hostage release deal which Biden outlined in late May.
Biden recently indicated that both Israel and Hamas had agreed to the outline and reiterated his determination to implement the proposal.
Last week, a US official said that the negotiations for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage release deal are in their "closing stages".
On Thursday, a source told Axios that Haniyeh was seen as a hardliner in the negotiations on a ceasefire and hostage release deal and it was determined that removing him would remove an obstacle to a ceasefire deal, despite the "pragmatic" face Haniyeh attempted to present to the mainstream media.
"Haniyeh presented a pragmatic face to the mediators but internally inside Hamas led a hard line," the source said.
(Israel National News' North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Israel National News articles, however, is Israeli time.)