Biden, Netanyahu talk ahead of Israeli hit on Iran

President Joe Biden talks on the phone outside the White House

President Joe Biden speaks on the phone while walking outside the White House

(Image credit: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images)

published 10 October 2024

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.

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.

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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."

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Rafi Schwartz has worked as a politics writer at The Week since 2022, where he covers elections, Congress and the White House. He was previously a contributing writer with Mic focusing largely on politics, a senior writer with Splinter News, a staff writer for Fusion's news lab, and the managing editor of Heeb Magazine, a Jewish life and culture publication. Rafi's work has appeared in Rolling Stone, GOOD and The Forward, among others.