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Washington, US
With each passing day, the strained relationship between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Joe Biden is reaching new heights. Most recently it is fueled by the Israeli strike in Gaza which resulted in the deaths of seven aid workers, including one American from the World Central Kitchen charity.
Amid this, the leaders of the two nations held their first interaction since the strike on aid workers. The conversation, which comes at a time when Israel is preparing to enter Rafah and has finalised its operational plans, started at 11:45 ET (9:15 IST), as per an Israeli official, media reports said.
Notably, the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Friday (Apr 4) is set to deliberate on a draft resolution advocating for a weapons embargo on Israel. The council will also push for a condemnation of “the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare”.
This comes as Israeli officials continue to maintain that the strike was unintentional.
Jose Andres, the head of World Central Kitchen, accused Israel of deliberately targeting the charity workers, and said, "This was not just a bad luck situation where, 'Oops, we dropped a bomb in the wrong place,'"
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Biden on April 2 expressed his "outrage" over Israel's strike. He also criticised Israel for failing to adequately safeguard the civilians in the war zone.
US abstained from UNSC resolution
The United States on March 25 abstained from a UN Security Council Resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. This drew strong disapproval from Israel as Netanyahu canceled an Israeli delegation's visit to Washington.
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Biden has also called Israel's plans to invade Rafah as equal to crossing a 'red line'.
Watch | Israel War: Outrage over the killing of aid workers
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that the administration will continue to engage in "tough conversations" with Israeli counterparts.
(With inputs from agencies)