What happened
President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone Wednesday for the first time since Aug. 21, with Vice President Kamala Harris joining the call, the White House said. The "direct" and "productive" call covered a "range of issues" and lasted about half an hour, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Who said what
Biden and Netanyahu discussed Gaza and the "future of Israel's campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon," but the bulk of the conversation focused on "Israel's plans to retaliate against Iran" for its Oct. 1 missile barrage, ABC News said, citing an official "familiar with the call." Netanyahu "didn't present a fully finalized vision for a counterattack," but Biden administration officials were "relatively satisfied with the level of detail" and "felt the Israeli government was receptive to their arguments" about a measured response that wouldn't spark an all-out regional war with Iran.
The call came amid "Biden's growing frustration" with Netanyahu, as Israel's multi-front war adds a "layer of complexity to the American election next month," The Associated Press said. The White House was also "blindsided by a series of Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon," The New York Times said, and defense officials were furious they didn't have prior warning to put U.S. troops in the region on heightened alert.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
What next?
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a video posted Wednesday that Israel's attack on Iran "will be deadly, precise and above all, surprising," and "they will not understand what happened and how it happened." Netanyahu "will convene the security cabinet" on Thursday, Axios said, a necessary legal step before launching an expected "significant military action," likely including a "combination of airstrikes on military targets in Iran and clandestine attacks."
-
Political cartoons for December 15Cartoons Monday’s political cartoons include Time's person of the year, naughty and nice list, and more
-
Who is fuelling the flames of antisemitism in Australia?Today’s Big Question Deadly Bondi Beach attack the result of ‘permissive environment’ where warning signs were ‘too often left unchecked’
-
Bulgaria is the latest government to fall amid mass protestsThe Explainer The country’s prime minister resigned as part of the fallout
-
The issue dividing Israel: ultra-Orthodox draft dodgersIn the Spotlight A new bill has solidified the community’s ‘draft evasion’ stance, with this issue becoming the country’s ‘greatest internal security threat’
-
Senate votes down ACA subsidies, GOP alternativeSpeed Read The Senate rejected the extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, guaranteeing a steep rise in health care costs for millions of Americans
-
Abrego García freed from jail on judge’s orderSpeed Read The wrongfully deported man has been released from an ICE detention center
-
Indiana Senate rejects Trump’s gerrymander pushSpeed Read The proposed gerrymander would have likely flipped the state’s two Democratic-held US House seats
-
Democrat files to impeach RFK Jr.Speed Read Rep. Haley Stevens filed articles of impeachment against Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
-
$1M ‘Trump Gold Card’ goes live amid travel rule furorSpeed Read The new gold card visa offers an expedited path to citizenship in exchange for $1 million
-
US seizes oil tanker off VenezuelaSpeed Read The seizure was a significant escalation in the pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
-
Judge orders release of Ghislaine Maxwell recordsSpeed Read The grand jury records from the 2019 prosecution of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein will be made public
