Biden warns Netanyahu that US support for war is not guaranteed

US President Joe Biden has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that his government must do more to minimize the harm to civilians in Gaza and protect aid workers if Israel wants Washington's continued support for the war against Hamas, the White House said.

Biden and Netanyahu spoke by phone on Thursday as outrage built over an Israeli airstrike earlier this week that killed seven workers with the international food charity World Central Kitchen.

"President Biden emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable," said a White House statement.

"He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers."

The White House said Biden warned Netanyahu that "US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these steps."

Biden also called for an "immediate ceasefire" in the six-month-old war in Gaza, which began with Palestinian militant group Hamas storming across the border and massacring some 1,200 people. More than 200 others were taken to Gaza as hostages, with dozens still held captive.

Weeks of negotiations - brokered by the United States, Qatar and Egypt - with Israel and Hamas over a ceasefire and the release of the Israeli hostages have failed to achieve a breakthrough.

Much of Gaza lies in ruins as warnings grow of famine in the isolated Palestinian territory, where little food and aid is arriving. The Hamas-run Health Ministry puts the death toll at over 33,000.

World Central Kitchen (WCK), which was key player in distributing food to Gazans, said earlier Thursday that its aid convoy was deliberately "targeted" by Israel, rebuffing Israeli statements that it was a tragic, but mistaken, attack.

"This was a military attack that involved multiple strikes and targeted three WCK vehicles," WCK chief executive officer Erin Gore and executive co-chairman Javier Garcia said in a joint statement.

"All three vehicles were carrying civilians; they were marked as WCK vehicles; and their movements were in full compliance with Israeli authorities, who were aware of their itinerary, route, and humanitarian mission."

Seven of the charity's employees were killed on Monday as they were returning from a Gaza food delivery. Their deaths provoked international fury and condemnation, even from traditionally close allies like the United States, Britain and the European Union.

Among those killed were three Britons, one Australian, one Polish national, a US-Canadian dual citizen and a Palestinian man.

WCK founder José Andrés, a well-known chef based in the US, told Israel's Channel 12 late Wednesday that the airstrike was a "direct attack" on the humanitarian workers and that Israeli forces had systematically gone after the clearly marked aid vehicles.

The non-profit, which delivers meals to areas impacted by conflict and natural disaster, is demanding "an independent, third-party investigation" into how events unfolded and whether international law was violated.

WCK halted its activities in Gaza after the attack.

Chief of the General Staff of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Herzi Halevi said earlier this week that the workers were killed due to "misidentification" issue, citing Israel's own preliminary investigation. He said a "grave mistake" had been made.

Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog have both apologized to World Central Kitchen, but that has done little to quell the anger.

During their phone call, the White House said Biden and Netanyahu also discussed Iranian threats toward Israel.