'Stop bullshitting me': Furious Biden scolds Netanyahu during phone call
United States President Joe Biden reportedly lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call on Thursday. Channel 12 News reported that the outburst came after Netanyahu informed Biden that Israel was proceeding with negotiations on a hostages-for-ceasefire agreement with Hamas and would shortly send a delegation to resume talks. "Stop bullshitting me," the US President is said to have retorted, adding that he wanted a ceasefire deal reached within one to two weeks.
Biden urges swift ceasefire amid Middle East tensions
Ceasefire talks have been ongoing for many months without results, and Biden believes Netanyahu is purposefully postponing talks for internal political reasons. "Don't take the president for granted," Biden told Netanyahu. According to Channel 12, this remark was made in the context of Israeli-American cooperation should a war break out. Tensions remain high in the Middle East as Iran and its proxy terror groups vow vengeance for the recent assassinations of many terror officials, including Fouad Shukur and Ismail Haniyeh.
Biden criticizes Israel's unilateral action
Biden also stated that the killing of Hamas leader Haniyeh in Iran was "poorly timed," occurring "right at what the Americans hoped would be the endgame" of negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release deal. The New York Times, citing an unnamed US official, said Biden expressed concern that the operation could trigger a regional war. Reportedly, Israelis did not inform Americans about their plan to assassinate Haniyeh, despite Biden hosting Netanyahu at the White House just days prior.
US sending aircraft carrier, warships
As the Middle East braces for an Iranian retaliation in response to the killing of Haniyeh on its soil and others, the US is sending a carrier strike group, a fighter squadron, and additional warships. The Pentagon did not specify when the various ships and planes would be deployed. But in a statement released on Friday, it described the steps as required to "mitigate the possibility of regional escalation by Iran or Iran's partners and proxies."
