Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden held a 50-minute phone conversation late Wednesday afternoon to discuss Israel’s response to last week’s Iranian ballistic missile attack against the Jewish State, the Prime Minister’s Office said Wednesday evening.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a briefing that the US and Israel have “had discussions since last week after the Iran attack, and so those discussions continued with the president and the prime minister” in what she called a “direct and productive” conversation that she said lasted 30 minutes.
Vice President Kamala Harris also participated in the conversation, as did Secretary of State Antony Blinken by phone from a plane while on his way to an assignment in Laos, according to State Department spokesperson Matt Miller.
On the Israeli side, Netanyahu was joined by diplomatic adviser Ophir Falk, Military Secretary Roman Gofman, Chief of Staff Tzachi Braverman, and deputy head of National Security Council Gil Reich, among others.
A subsequent readout of the conversation released by the White House read as follows:
The President affirmed his ironclad commitment to Israel’s security. He condemned unequivocally Iran’s ballistic missile attack against Israel on October 1st. On Lebanon, the President emphasized the need for a diplomatic arrangement to safely return both Lebanese and Israeli civilians to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line. The President affirmed Israel’s right to protect its citizens from Hezbollah, which has fired thousands of missiles and rockets into Israel over the past year alone, while emphasizing the need to minimize harm to civilians, in particular in the densely populated areas of Beirut. On Gaza, the leaders discussed the urgent need to renew diplomacy to release the hostages held by Hamas. The President also discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the imperative to restore access to the north, including by reinvigorating the corridor from Jordan immediately. They agreed to remain in close contact over the coming days both directly and through their national security teams.
The Prime Minister’s Office has not yet released a readout.
Prior to the call, Netanyahu met with a delegation from the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, telling them, “There is only one force in the world confronting Iran, and that force is Israel.
“If we don’t fight, we die. But it’s not only our fight, it’s the free world’s fight, and I would say the civilized world’s fight,” Netanyahu told the delegates.
Participating in the meeting were Conference of Presidents Chairperson Harriet Schleifer, incoming Chairperson Betsy Korn, CEO William Daroff, and the Prime Minister’s Spokesperson, Dr. Omer Dostri, among others.
Former President Donald Trump, “on his own initiative” called Netanyahu last week and congratulated him on the “determined and powerful actions that Israel carried out against Hezbollah,” the Prime Minister’s Office said Wednesday afternoon. “The American senator, Lindsey Graham, also participated in the conversation.”
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant was set to meet on Wednesday in Washington with his American counterpart, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, but delayed the visit “at the prime minister’s request” pending his conversation with Biden.
“The defense minister represents the Israeli government and the prime minister, and any diplomatic travel will only proceed with official approval,” Gallant’s office said.
