The tension in the relationship between US President Joseph Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is not easing due to Netanyahu's attitude towards the war in Gaza.
Thus, Biden allegedly called the leader of an allied country an "asshole" three times, according to NBC today, citing three people who heard it.
Since the Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian Hamas on southern Israel and the start of the Gaza war, Biden has sought to persuade Israel to change its military strategy, but Netanyahu has vowed to wage war until Israel "achieves total victory" and "destroys Hamas."
In private conversations, according to a report by the American TV network NBC, Biden's statements were less diplomatic and he spoke frankly, which surprised many people familiar with the situation.
"He just feels that enough of it (in Gaza) has to stop," one of the people said of Biden's views.
Biden also said Netanyahu was "giving him hell" and was impossible to deal with, people with knowledge of Biden's statements said.
Last week, Politico reported that Biden called the Israeli prime minister a "f*cking bad guy," according to several unnamed sources who spoke to the president.
Biden's spokesman Andrew Bates later stated that "the president did not say that, nor would he say that."
When asked about Biden's private statements about Netanyahu, the spokesman for the National Security Council denied that relations were in crisis, Israeli media reported.
"It has been a respectful friendship in public and in private for decades, but the president has made it clear where he disagrees with Prime Minister Netanyahu," the spokesman said.
Relations had frayed even earlier, during Netanyahu's attempt to reform Israel's justice system, when Biden sought to pressure the Israeli prime minister to shelve the plan, which caused deep discontent not only in Israel, but also demonstrations there.
After several harsh statements, Biden announced in March of last year that he would not invite Netanyahu to the White House anytime soon.
After the attack on southern Israel on October 7, the US president immediately expressed his heartfelt solidarity with Israel and announced his support, labeling the actions of Hamas as "pure unadulterated evil".
Less than two weeks after the attack, he arrived in Israel to meet with Netanyahu and the families of the hostages taken to Gaza, which was welcomed by Israelis and Jews in the diaspora.
In the continuation of the military offensive, with an increase in the number of Palestinian victims in Gaza and under the increasing threat of a humanitarian crisis, Biden visibly changed his tone.
The publication of Biden's private statements along with public warnings against the planned Israeli military offensive in the city of Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip, where more than a million displaced Palestinians have taken refuge from the conflict, could signal even further deterioration of relations between the two leaders, Israeli media commented.
Last Sunday, Biden said that Israel's military campaign was "excessive" and told Netanyahu the same thing in a phone conversation.
The White House said the US president told the Israeli prime minister that the military operation in Rafah should not continue "unless there is a credible and workable plan" to protect Palestinians who have tried to flee the war there.
Bonus video:
