DOUBTS are hovering in the air about President Joe Biden's attempts to steer Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu away from a full-scale ground invasion of Gaza. Despite Biden's calls for restraint — urging Netanyahu to permit humanitarian aid, reconsider an offensive in Rafah, and tread cautiously — Israel is pressing ahead without any pause. But so far Biden has desisted from showing any "discomfort" with Netanyahu on this matter. Biden's reluctance to publicly confront Netanyahu stems from a deeper calculation: maintaining Israel's security post-October 7, a line Biden is unwilling to cross. But a familiar tension is simmering between Biden and Netanyahu. From the outset, President Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel to take greater care in safeguarding civilians, emphasizing humanitarian concerns even as they backed Israel's military response to the October 7 Hamas attack. Weapons flowed swiftly from the US to Israel, demonstrating unequivocal support. Yet, as Israeli forces advanced, the Biden administration found itself repeatedly cautioning Netanyahu's government to act with restraint, warnings that went largely unheeded.
Biden's visit to Israel, marked by a warm public embrace of Netanyahu, underscored the balancing act at play. While supportive of Israel's security needs, Biden's team consistently pressed for greater humanitarian access into Gaza. Israeli officials, resistant at first, eventually allowed limited aid flows, but even these were hampered by logistical challenges and Israeli-imposed restrictions. One of Biden's key concerns was Israel's planned offensive in Rafah, a densely populated area. The president's team pushed for a detailed strategy to mitigate harm to civilians — but again, Israel proceeded on its terms. Biden's efforts to rein in Israel's military actions after the October 7 Hamas attack were, at best, a mixed bag. On one hand, his team managed to prevent a potentially disastrous attack on Hezbollah and helped contain tensions with Iran. But when it came to the situation in Gaza, Biden's influence faltered. Biden's pleas for caution in Gaza were met with calculated resistance from Israeli leaders determined to act on their own timeline. Biden repeatedly warned Netanyahu to take a more measured approach. He even threatened to withhold offensive weapons if Israel didn't change course. Yet, Netanyahu, in typical fashion, carried on without pause, seemingly unbothered by Biden's threats, which, in the end, went unfulfilled.
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