Joe Biden vows ‘ironclad’ US support for Israel on security

The US President and Israeli Prime Minister have spoken for the first time since the Israeli incursion into Lebanon.

Benjamin Netanyahu and his advisers hold a phone call with US President Joe Biden on Thursday. Picture: Prime Minister's Office

Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu have spoken for the first time since the Israeli incursion into Lebanon, agreeing to stay in “close contact” as they discussed a response to the Iranian missile strike on the Jewish state on October 1.

The US President also took the opportunity to reaffirm his “ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.” As Israel expands its military activities in the Middle East, Mr Biden used the phone call to condemn the Iranian attack and uphold Israel’s right to defend itself.

However, a White House read-out of the call made clear that Mr Biden again emphasised the need for a “diplomatic arrangement to safely return both Lebanese and Israeli civilians to their homes on both sides of the Blue Line.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Vice-President Kamala Harris – who earlier this week declined to characterise Mr Netanyahu as a “close ally” when pressed in an interview on 60 Minutes – also joined the call, which was described by the White House as “direct and productive”.

During the call, Mr Biden told Mr Netanyahu to “minimise harm” to civilians in Lebanon, particularly in “densely populated areas of Beirut”, the White House said.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told journalists: “There should be no kind of military action in Lebanon that looks anything like Gaza and leaves a result anything like Gaza.”

It was the first phone call between Mr Biden and the Israeli Prime Minister for seven weeks, despite constant diplomatic and military negotiations between the Israeli government and its closest backer over the nature of the forthcoming attack.

Israel has said it would respond to the volley of 181 ballistic missiles fired by Iran last week in retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

After a rocket hit a football field in the Druze town of Majdal Shams in the Golan Heights in July, killing 12 children, Israel struck Beirut, killing Hezbollah military chief Fuad Shukr. Since then it has wiped out nearly all of the group’s military and political leadership and begun a ground ­incursion.

According to Israeli soldiers returning from the frontline, fighting inside Lebanon has been less challenging than expected, perhaps because of the loss of the higher command.

Mr Netanyahu and his military chiefs are being urged to press home their advantage by trying to significantly reduce what Israel regards as the longer-term threat: Iran’s nuclear program.

Mr Biden has accepted Israel will respond to the missile attack but has publicly urged the Israeli Prime Minister to desist from striking nuclear-related targets or oil installations. The former has always been an Iranian “red line” that might trigger a wider war, in which US bases in the Middle East, and particularly the Gulf, could also face attack.

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant was due to visit Washington on Wednesday to discuss what targets Israel might choose but was called back at the last minute. He merely said: “The entire chain of command is in line and focused around this issue.”

Mr Biden is reported to be “frustrated” by Mr Netanyahu’s refusal to share his plans with the White House, and has hinted at withholding missile supplies if he goes beyond what he has set as his “limits”. He also asked about Mr Netanyahu’s plan for “the day after”, according to reports of their conversation.

Despite the growing wave of sympathy for the Palestinian cause among many Democrat voters, support for Israel is still seen as an important electoral issue.

Mr Netanyahu pushed that point by confirming that before his call with Mr Biden, he spoke to former president Donald Trump, who “congratulated (him) on the determined and powerful actions that Israel carried out against Hezbollah”, his office said.

Israeli Defence Forces say the four divisions it has deployed in southern Lebanon so far have successfully destroyed hundreds of “Hezbollah infrastructure targets”, including weapons dumps and tunnels. On Monday, the IDF seized the village of Maroun al-Ras after a week of fighting.

Additional reporting: The Times