The WH has signaled a possible policy change if Israel does not address the harm to civilians.
President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, their first meeting since an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers.
Biden had slammed the incident, which Israel said was unintentional, as “outraging.”
Biden also told Netanyahu that strikes against food relief workers and the overall humanitarian crisis in Gaza are “unacceptable,” according to a White House reading of the call.
The White House has signaled for the first time that it may be prepared to consider changes to its policy toward Israel if the president does not take steps to better protect civilians and aid workers.
“We have made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of concrete and measurable measures to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers,” the statement said. has been written. “He made clear that U.S. policy on Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel's immediate action on these measures.”
However, the document does not detail how the Israeli prime minister would respond to the request or what steps the United States would take if the country did not comply.
World Central Kitchen is calling for an independent investigation into an airstrike that struck a convoy after it left a warehouse in central Gaza. The group said the vehicles were marked and their movements were coordinated with the Israel Defense Forces.
“This was a multi-attack military attack that targeted three WCK vehicles,” the group said, calling on the United States, Australia, Canada, Poland and the United Kingdom to provide third-party information regarding the incident. We called on everyone to join us in demanding an investigation by the public.
A senior adviser to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News that advocacy groups' claims that the attack was intentional are “ridiculous.”
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant told Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Thursday that a “thorough and transparent investigation has been conducted,” and that the findings of the investigation were “conducted,” according to a transcript of the call between the two leaders provided by the prime minister's office. It said it would be shared with partners.
Biden and Netanyahu last spoke by phone on March 18. Tensions between the two leaders have continued to rise since then, as the Israel-Hamas war stretches into its sixth month and they face political pressure at home.
During Thursday's meeting, Biden “stressed” the need for an immediate ceasefire agreement to free the hostages and allow more humanitarian aid to be poured into the Gaza Strip.
The two leaders also spoke about Iranian threats to Israel, and Biden “made clear that the United States stands strongly with Israel in the face of these threats.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for the latest information.
ABC News' Mary Bruce contributed to this report.