Biden, after a conversation with Netanyahu, handed out intriguing advances on the creation of a Palestinian state

Joe Biden said creating an independent state for the Palestinians was not impossible while Benjamin Netanyahu was still in power, following a phone call with the Israeli prime minister on Friday.

According to The Guardian, the US president spoke with Netanyahu for the first time in almost a month about differences over the future of a Palestinian state, as well as Israeli attacks on Gaza, where the death toll of Palestinians has exceeded 24,000, according to local health authorities.

The US President said Netanyahu is not opposed to all two-state solutions and there are several possible options.

The two leaders discussed efforts to free the remaining hostages held by Hamas and Israel’s move to more “targeted” operations in Gaza to ensure more humanitarian aid flows, White House press secretary John Kirby said after the call.

John Kirby told reporters that Biden had been trying to schedule the call “for quite some time” and denied it was in response to Netanyahu’s comment on Thursday that he opposed Palestinian statehood that did not guarantee Israel’s security.

Friday’s phone call came a day after Netanyahu said he had told U.S. officials in no uncertain terms that he would not support a Palestinian state as part of any post-war plan. Biden, for his part, in a call Friday reaffirmed his commitment to working to help the Palestinians move toward statehood.

Asked whether a two-state solution was impossible while Netanyahu was still in power, Biden replied: “No, it is not.”

Speaking to reporters after meeting with mayors of US cities, Biden said Netanyahu is not opposed to all two-state solutions and there are several possible options, adding that some members of the United Nations do not have armed forces.

Biden was asked whether he would reconsider the terms of aid to Israel given Netanyahu’s comments rejecting a two-state solution.

“I think we can work something out… I think there are ways it could work,” the American president said.

According to The Guardian, Biden and Netanyahu discussed efforts to free the remaining hostages held by Hamas and Israel’s move to more “targeted” operations in Gaza to ensure more humanitarian aid flows in, the White House said. Biden is pressuring Israel to reduce Palestinian deaths even as he continues to strongly support Israel in its war against Hamas.

But the two politicians do not see eye-to-eye on Palestinian statehood, a solution Biden has championed to achieve long-term peace, The Guardian emphasizes.

“The President also discussed his vision of a stronger peace and security for Israel, fully integrated into the region, and a two-state solution with Israel’s security guaranteed,” the White House said in a statement about their call.

Biden’s call came after Red Crescent officials reported “intensive Israeli drone attacks on civilians at Al-Amal Hospital” in Khan Yunis, the main city in southern Gaza.

Israel launched a major new offensive in Khan Yunis this week to capture the town, which it says is now the main base of Hamas militants who attacked Israeli towns on October 7, killing 1,200 people.

Gaza’s health ministry said 142 Palestinians were killed and 278 wounded in Gaza in the past 24 hours, raising the death toll to 24,762 in more than three months of war.

US senators this week rejected a measure that would have made US military aid conditional on an investigation into whether the Israeli government is violating human rights and international agreements in Gaza. The measure signaled growing concern in Washington about Israeli bombing.

A Palestinian-American teenager was killed by Israeli security forces in the West Bank on Friday, Palestinian health officials said.

“We are seriously concerned about these reports,” said John Kirby.

Meanwhile in Yemen, the US military said its forces struck on Friday three Houthi anti-ship missiles that were aimed at the southern Red Sea and were ready to be launched, The Guardian writes. The missiles in areas controlled by Iran-backed militants “posed an immediate threat to commercial and US Navy ships in the region,” US Central Command said on X (formerly Twitter), saying the missiles were destroyed.

The incident involving the Houthis, who say their attacks are carried out in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, is the latest episode amid rising tensions in the Red Sea that have disrupted global trade and raised fears of supply disruptions.