VOA News | Thursday, April 4, 2024 
Biden demands Israel adopt ways to protect Palestinians, quickly negotiate cease-fire with Hamas

U.S. President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that continued U.S. support for Israel’s war with Hamas would be determined by how Israel adopts new measures to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza and humanitarian workers trying to bring food to them. Days after Israeli forces unleashed airstrikes that killed seven international aid workers, the White House said Biden emphasized to the Israeli leader in a phone call “that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable.” It said Biden demanded new steps to protect civilians and “an immediate cease-fire” in the nearly six-month conflict. In a readout of the half-hour call, the White House said Biden “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 Brussels, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters, “If we don’t see the changes we need to see, there will be changes in our policy.” When asked at a White House news conference whether the U.S. would cut off...Read more