Biden and Netanyahu hold their first conversation in weeks. Trump recently called the Israeli leader

By ZEKE MILLER, TIA GOLDENBERG and AAMER MADHANI

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday held their archetypal telephone successful 7 weeks, a speech that comes as Israel expands its crushed incursion into Lebanon and considers how to respond to Iran’s caller ballistic rocket attack.

Vice President Kamala Harris joined the call, according to the White House.

Netanyahu’s office, meantime, confirmed that the premier curate had precocious spoken with erstwhile President Donald Trump. The Republican, who is the midst of a adjacent White House contention against Harris, called Netanyahu past week and “congratulated him connected the aggravated and determined operations that Israel carried retired against Hezbollah,” according to Netanyahu’s office.

The Biden-Netanyahu speech comes astatine a infinitesimal of Biden’s increasing vexation with the premier curate and arsenic the increasing struggle successful Middle East is adding a furniture of complexity to the American predetermination adjacent month.

Netanyahu has repeatedly looked past the Biden administration’s calls for cease-fires. They would astatine slightest impermanent intermission the warring successful Gaza, facilitate the merchandise of immoderate 100 hostages, who person been held by Hamas since the Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught connected Israel, and stem the increasing struggle betwixt the Israel and Hezbollah militants successful Lebanon. Hamas has been designated arsenic a violent enactment by the United States, Canada and the European Union.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 79th league of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

The spreading struggle crossed the Mideast is looming implicit Harris successful the last weeks of the White House campaign.

Some Arab-American votes successful intimately contested Michigan, and elsewhere, are threatening to withhold their enactment for the Democrat implicit their dissatisfaction with the administration’s handling of the warfare successful Gaza. Trump has progressively criticized Harris and Biden for their overseas argumentation decisions arsenic helium makes his lawsuit to American voters to instrumentality him to the White House.

The Trump run said it should not beryllium unsurprising that Netanyahu held talks with erstwhile president.

“World leaders privation to talk and conscionable with President Trump due to the fact that they cognize helium volition soon beryllium returning to the White House and volition reconstruct bid astir the globe,” Trump run spokesperson Karoline Leavitt successful a connection astir that call, which a Trump ally, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., joined.

Israel has been discussing however to respond to the Iranian rocket barrage from Oct. 1, which the United States helped to fend off. Biden past week said helium would not enactment a retaliatory Israeli onslaught connected sites related to Tehran’s nuclear program.

Biden urged Israel to see alternatives to hitting Iran’s lipid sector. Such a onslaught could impact the planetary lipid marketplace and boost pump prices, developments that would not assistance Harris’ efforts to triumph implicit the shrinking fig of undecided voters.

Netanyahu’s different choices scope from a mostly symbolic onslaught — akin to how Israel responded after Iran launched missiles and onslaught drones successful April astatine Israel.

Since the leaders’ past telephone connected Aug. 21, Israel has carried retired a brazen sabotage and assassination run against Iran-backed Hezbollah successful Lebanon, wherever the militant radical has continued to occurrence missiles, rockets and drones astatine Israel.

Israel is present undertaking what it has described as limited crushed operations across its bluish borderline with Lebanon to excavation retired Hezbollah. Airstrikes killed the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and decimated its leadership.

Last month, thousands of explosives hidden successful pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah detonated, sidesplitting dozens of radical and maiming thousands, including galore civilians. Israel is wide believed to beryllium down the attack

The U.S. has maintained a stepped-up unit beingness successful the region, to support Israel and American interests successful the Middle East. Washington has grown progressively vocal with Israeli officials astir the request to beryllium kept successful the loop connected their decision-making to guarantee the extortion of U.S. forces.

Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, had been scheduled to conscionable with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin connected Wednesday, but the Israelis postponed the visit, according to Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.

The Biden-Netanyahu took spot 1 time aft disclosures from journalist Bob Woodward’s caller book, “War” that Biden has privately made his vexation and distrust of Israeli person known.

The president privately unleashed a profanity-laden tirade, calling him a “son of a bitch” and a “bad f——— guy,” according to the book.

Biden said helium felt, successful Woodward’s accounting, that Netanyahu “had been lying to him regularly.” With Netanyahu “continuing to accidental helium was going to termination each past subordinate of Hamas.” Woodward wrote, “Biden had told him that was impossible, threatening some privately and publically to withhold violative U.S. weapons shipment.”

The White House declined to comment.

Goldenberg reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin successful New York and Lolita C. Baldor contributed to this report.