Netanyahu speaks with Biden again amid ongoing war, thanks him for support

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday (local time) spoke again with US President Joe Biden amid the ongoing war with Hamas and thanked the leader for his “unequivocal” support for the nation.

After their previous conversation, which took place yesterday, Netanyahu expressed gratitude for his unwavering support for Israel.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke again today with US President Joe Biden. The Prime Minister thanked the President for his strong words of support, following their previous conversation yesterday, and for his unequivocal support for the State of Israel,” the Office of the Prime Minister of Israel said in a statement.

Notably, this is the fourth time the two have spoken since Saturday’s attack, The Times of Israel reported.

Meanwhile, during the call, Biden said: “At this point, we need to be crystal clear: There is no justification for terrorism. There is no excuse. The type of terrorism on display here is just beyond the pale,” he added in remarks at a separate White House event unrelated to Israel.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with Netanyahu after a second briefing by their national security experts, according to information provided by the White House during the call, The Times of Israel reported.

“The leaders agreed to maintain regular contact in the face of an unprecedented and horrific assault by Hamas terrorists,” according to the US affidavit.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus on Wednesday said 1,200 Israelis had been killed and more than 2,700 wounded and stressed that Israeli soldiers were ready to carry out a mission in Gaza.

“Four days after Hamas invaded Israel, attacked Israeli communities, killed and butchered Israeli citizens and took dozens of Israeli hostages in Gaza. The death toll is staggering, 1,200 Israelis killed. The majority of them are civilians and more than 2,700 injured, and unfortunately something tells me that these are not final numbers,” he said.

The IDF spokesman said about 300,000 troops were deployed on the Gaza border and said they would ensure that Hamas would have no military capabilities at the end of the war.

In a live video posted on X, Lt. Col. Conricus added: “We have sent our inventory, armored soldiers, our artillery cores and many other reserve soldiers. 300,000 in number in various brigades and divisions and now they are near the Gaza Strip preparing to fulfill the mission of the Israeli government, which is to make sure that Hamas at the end of the war will not have any military capabilities with which to be able to threaten or kill Israeli citizens.”

As part of the ongoing counteroffensive against Hamas, dozens of Israeli Air Force fighter jets struck more than 200 targets in the Al-Furqan neighborhood.

In a post shared to X, the IDF said: “Dozens of Israeli Air Force warplanes struck over 200 targets in the Al-Furqan neighborhood, a terrorist hotspot from which Hamas devises and executes its attacks. This is the third counterstrike in the area in the last 24 hours, in which 450 targets have been hit.