Before Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had just completed a tense visit to the Middle East. This visit ended on Tuesday, but Blinken was unable to successfully broker a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas concerning Gaza.
The latest round of Gaza ceasefire talks took place on the 15th in Doha, Qatar. Representatives from Israel, the United States, Qatar, and Egypt participated in the discussions, but Hamas did not send any representatives. The ceasefire talks on the 16th were temporarily suspended and will continue in Cairo later this week.
In a statement, the White House said: "The President emphasized the necessity of reaching a ceasefire and hostage release agreement as soon as possible and discussed the upcoming talks in Cairo to remove any remaining obstacles." Furthermore, the statement noted that Biden and Netanyahu discussed U.S. support for Israel in dealing with threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthi rebels, as well as the current U.S. defensive military deployments.
Regarding the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran on July 31, Iran has vowed revenge and accused Israel of being behind the attack. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied involvement in the assassination.
The U.S. has ordered a nuclear-powered missile submarine to the Middle East and accelerated the deployment of the "Abraham Lincoln" aircraft carrier strike group to the region to enhance Israel's defensive capabilities.
Blinken and mediators from Egypt and Qatar are pinning their hopes on a "transitional plan" proposed during the earlier Doha ceasefire talks, aimed at narrowing the differences between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza conflict.
Biden is currently vacationing on an 8,000-acre ranch in California's Santa Ynez Valley. Before the call, a U.S. official revealed that Biden is expected to urge Netanyahu to ease Israel's new demand to station troops in the land corridor between Egypt and Gaza.
Netanyahu's office on Wednesday denied reports by Israeli television that Netanyahu had agreed to withdraw from the "Philadelphi Corridor." The "Philadelphi Corridor" refers to a narrow strip of land running along the Gaza Strip's border with Egypt, stretching 14 kilometers.
In the Gaza ceasefire negotiations, Hamas demanded Israel's complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, including the "Philadelphi Corridor." Israel, however, seeks to maintain control over this corridor. Since late May, Israel has occupied the "Philadelphi Corridor" and destroyed dozens of tunnels beneath it, claiming these tunnels were used for smuggling weapons to militant groups in Gaza.
