The White House reported that President Joe Biden spoke by phone Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in their first publicly disclosed contact in more than a month. The conversation took place after a month of heightened tensions between the two nations due to the situation in Gaza.
The leaders discussed sending more humanitarian aid to Gaza and Israel's pending operation in Rafah.
The call comes days after Schumer's statements
In subsequent statements, Netanyahu assured that he told Biden that Israel was committed to "achieving all the goals of the war: the elimination of Hamas, the release of all our hostages, and the promise that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel," while providing "the necessary humanitarian aid that helps achieve these goals." On the other hand, President Biden called the speech "good."
The phone call comes days after Chuck Schumer, the U.S. Senate majority leader, called for Netanyahu's removal for having "lost his way." Schumer's demand generated reactions from both Republicans and Democrats.
Likewise, Netanyahu rejected Schumer's statements during an interview on CNN:
It's inappropriate to go to a sister democracy and try to replace the elected leadership there. That's something that Israel, the Israeli public does on its own, and we're not a banana republic.
