Days after the Israel Defense Forces accidentally fired on a convoy of workers from the World Central Kitchen who were distributing food in Gaza last week, killing seven, President Joe Biden spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by telephone. According to the White House readout of the call, Biden demanded that Israel “announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers” and tied U.S. policy decisions to his administration’s assessment of “Israel’s immediate action” on those steps. 

Biden also called for an immediate ceasefire “to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians, and he urged the Prime Minister to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home.” Because nothing says solidarity quite like rewarding the enemy of your closest ally in the Middle East for using Palestinians — and American hostages — as human shields.