An angry Biden accused Netanyahu of a “mistake” regarding the Gaza Strip

Biden’s comments were some of his sharpest to date as he criticized Netanyahu amid rising tensions over civilian casualties from Israel’s war with Hamas and dire conditions in Gaza.

“I think what he’s doing is a mistake. I don’t agree with his approach,” Biden said in an interview with US Spanish-language television channel Univision when asked about Netanyahu’s handling of the war.

Joe Biden reiterated that last week’s Israeli drone attack, which killed seven aid workers at a US-based aid organization in Gaza and prompted a tense phone call with Netanyahu, was “outrageous.”

“I urge the Israelis to simply call for a ceasefire, to ensure, over the next six to eight weeks, full access to all food and medicine coming into the country,” Biden said.

The president’s remarks about the ceasefire marked a departure from his previous comments, in which he said the burden was on Hamas to agree to a truce and a deal to release hostages, The Guardian notes.

US President Biden also increased pressure on Israel to send more aid to devastated Gaza, saying he had spoken to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Egypt and they were “ready to deliver that food.”

“There is no excuse for not being able to meet the health and food needs of these people. This must be done now,” added the head of the American administration.

Israel said 468 aid trucks entered Gaza on Tuesday and 419 on Monday, the highest level in six months since the conflict began. However, the UN said this was still far below the minimum required to meet humanitarian needs.

Separately, USAid Administrator Samantha Power told a US Senate subcommittee on Tuesday: “We are seeing dramatic changes [в доставке помощи в Газу]which we hope will be maintained and expanded.”

“We have famine-like conditions in Gaza and supermarkets are stocked with food within a radius of several kilometers,” Power said. “We need a lot more than 500 trucks.”

Biden’s interview underscored a dramatic shift in his policy toward Israel after Israel’s killing of World Relief Organization workers in the Gaza Strip sparked outrage around the world.

Biden has strongly supported Israel following the unprecedented Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, while expressing growing concern about the loss of life in Gaza.

But it was only after his tense conversation with Netanyahu last week that he finally warned that the United States would be forced to change policy unless Israel changed its own Gaza policy.

In a call Thursday, Biden said Israel must immediately send more aid and protect civilians, while calling on Netanyahu to “empower his negotiators” to quickly reach a ceasefire with Hamas.

Israel responded by agreeing to open new crossings for humanitarian aid and over the weekend announced it was withdrawing troops from the southern Gaza town of Khan Yunis.

But relations remain tense as Netanyahu insists he has set a date for a major offensive on Rafah on the Egyptian border, which Washington strongly opposes.

With the US presidential election approaching in November, Biden is also facing growing opposition to his Gaza policies from Muslim voters and young people, with key allies calling on him to change course.

Family members of some of the American hostages taken by Hamas during the attacks met with Vice President Kamala Harris at the White House on Tuesday as negotiations for a deal continue.

“We need results. We need our people to come home,” Rachel Goldberg, whose son Hersh Goldberg-Paulin was among those captured, told reporters.

Jonathan Dekel-Chen, the father of American hostage Sagui Dekel-Chen, calls on Hamas to agree to the deal. “It’s up to them. There is no reason to refuse this deal,” he said.

But he warned against advancing on Rafah before the hostages are freed, adding that Israel’s actions “must not lead to repeated casualties among the hostages.”