The Donald Trump administration has sent a warning to Israel over its renewed military campaign in Gaza, threatening to withdraw support of the war continues, according to a report by The Washington Post.
This comes amid countries like the UK, France and Canada threatening 'concrete actions' against Israel. Israel launched a ground offensive called Golden Chariots in Gaza last weekend. Meanwhile, Israel and Hamas are carrying out indirect talks in Doha, Qatar since Saturday.
"Trump's people are letting Israel know, 'We will abandon you if you do not end this war'," the US newspaper quoted a source familiar with the talks as saying. However, the source pointed out that Netnayahu could have ended the war if he had a huge majority but currently he "does not have the political will".
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Responding to the Washington Post report, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee dismissed the claims and called their reporting "nonsense". "They need to listen to what the president says - not what some uninformed 'source' pretends to know."
Echoing the diplomat, another senior US official admitted to The Times of Israel that Trump's team has differences with Netanyahu but that does not mean the US would abandon Israel, calling the idead "preposterous".
On the other hand, Netanyahu himself admitted that Israel might stop getting US support, if "situation of famine" arose in Gaza. In an address posted on Telegram, Netanyahu said, "Even our closest allies in the world... are coming to me and saying...'There's one thing we cannot accept: images of mass starvation... if that happens, we won't be able to support you anymore'".
The Israeli PM's statement is seen as a bid to influence his right-wing allies who are against the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza. He added that aid will begin entering Gaza soon.
