Biden says he has no plans to speak to Netanyahu

WASHINGTON

US President Joe Biden said Monday that he has no plans to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"No," Biden told reporters when asked if he has scheduled a meeting with Netanyahu.

Asked whether he plans to schedule such a meeting, he said: "We’ll see what happens.”

About his plans to address Israel’s parliament, or Knesset, Biden said: "No, not at this moment."

Biden told MSNBC over the weekend that he might take that step so he could directly appeal to the Israeli public regarding his concerns over Netanyahu’s prosecution of the war in Gaza, while declining to elaborate.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by the Palestinian group Hamas in which nearly 1,200 people were killed.

More than 31,100 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and over 72,700 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

According to the Palestinian Health Ministry, at least 27 people have died of malnutrition and dehydration in Gaza due to the Israeli blockade.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of most food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.