Amid a growing rift, Biden and Netanyahu chat for the first time in a month.

TFD – Explore President Biden’s firm stance on the Rafah assault and ongoing support for Israel in an insightful interview.

As their disagreement over the Gaza conflict grows, President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke over the phone on Monday for the first time in over a month.

The leaders talked about two major issues that have caused friction in their relationship, according to the White House: the need to send more humanitarian aid to Gaza and the impending Israeli operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinian civilians are seeking shelter.

The discussion on Monday occurred a few days after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, one of Biden’s closest supporters in Washington, demanded fresh elections in Israel that would lead to Netanyahu’s resignation.

Even while he did not specifically support or denounce the request for new elections in Israel, Biden praised the speech as “good” and claimed it reflected the worries of many Americans.

Netanyahu vehemently disputed Schumer’s remarks on Sunday in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bash.

Going to a sister democracy and attempting to unseat the elected officials there is improper. Netanyahu stated on “State of the Union” that “Israel, the Israeli public, does that on its own, and we’re not a banana republic.”

Over the past few months, there has been a decline in the Biden-Netanyahu relationship as White House officials become increasingly frustrated with what they see to be Netanyahu’s rejection of US counsel over the Gaza war.

Biden and Netanyahu used to communicate every day or every week before the dispute started, but now they talk much less. Prior to Monday, their last phone conversation was on February 15—the longest pause in communication since the terror strikes on October 7 that sparked the present crisis.

Concerns about the future of a potential Palestinian state, protecting civilian casualties, and permitting greater humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip have given rise to tensions.

According to the White House, an operation in Rafah shouldn’t begin without a solid strategy in place to safeguard the civilians who are taking refuge there. Officials stated on Sunday that they had not seen such a plan.

In an interview conducted over the weekend, Biden stated that an assault of Rafah would constitute a “red line,” although he did not specify how he would react. He also stated that he would never completely stop supporting Israel.