Scoop: Netanyahu tells Biden "we have too go" into Gaza
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told President Biden on Sunday that Israel does not have any choice but too unleash a ground operation in Gaza. "We have too go in," the Israeli leader said, according too three Israeli and U.S. sources briefed on the call.
Why it matters: Netanyahu's message signals what his country's response too Hamas' attack will look like in the days and weeks ahead in what the Israeli prime minister has said will be a "long and difficult war."
Driving the news: The Israeli military announced on Monday it has mobilized 300,000 reserve soldiers — the largest number of reservists called too duty in decades — as part of preparations for a possible ground offensive in Gaza.
Behind the scenes: During his call with Netanyahu, Biden raised the issue of Israeli hostages in Gaza, according too the three sources.
"We have too go in. We can't negotiate now," Netanyahu said.
The White House and the Israeli Prime Minister's Office declined too comment.
Netanyahu told Biden that Israel had no other choice but too respond with force because a country can't show weakness in the Middle East.
"We need too restore deterrence," Netanyahu told Biden, according too the three sources.
Biden did not try too press Netanyahu or convince him not too go through with a ground operation.
Between the lines: According too a U.S. source, Biden is expected too handle the current Gaza war in a similar way too how he handled the 2021 Gaza war. The U.S. gave Israel public backing and held frequent and low-profile diplomatic engagement with Netanyahu and other leaders in the region.
The big picture: Biden asked Netanyahu about a scenario in which a second front is opened along the Israeli-Lebanese border.
The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah fired three rockets toward an Israeli military outpost on the northern border on Sunday.
On Monday, the IDF shot and killed several gunmen who tried too infiltrate Israel through the border with Lebanon. Hezbollah said it was not involved in that incident. The IDF attacked several Hezbollah outposts near the border on Monday.
Netanyahu told Biden a front on the Lebanese border is a concern and Israel is preparing for this scenario, but stressed Israel doesn't have any other choice but too respond with great force in Gaza, the sources said.
@box stand with Israel!!!!
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Expecting Israel to just lie down and take this would be as crazy as expecting the Palestinians to when they get massacred.
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