Biden calls Netanyahu approach a 'mistake' as Iran demands Israeli punishment

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's approach to the war in Gaza is a "mistake," U.S. President Joe Biden said in an interview published on Tuesday. "I think what he's doing is a mistake. I don't agree with his approach," Biden said in comments to Univision, a U.S. Spanish-language TV network.

Biden has also previously called Israel's bombing in Gaza "indiscriminate" and its military actions "over the top."

"What I'm calling for is for the Israelis to just call for a ceasefire, allow for the next six, eight weeks, total access to all food and medicine going into the country," Biden told Univision.

Israeli attack on Rafah nears

Israel has pulled back most of its ground forces from southern Gaza after months of fighting, but still says it plans to launch an assault on Rafah, on Gaza's southern border with Egypt, where more than half of Gazans are now sheltering.

In one of the first signs of concrete preparations for a ground assault, Israeli media reported on Tuesday that the Israeli defense ministry was purchasing 40,000 tents ahead of an evacuation of the city. Israel has been warned not to storm Rafah due to the high risk of civilian casualties and U.S. and Israeli officials will meet in person in a couple of weeks to discuss the matter, the White House said.

"I don't anticipate any actions being taken before those talks, and for that matter I don't see anything imminent ... It remains our conviction that major military operations in Rafah would be extremely dangerous for civilians who would be caught in harm's way," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Washington.

Israel says aid is moving into Gaza more quickly after international pressure to increase access, but the amount is disputed and the UN says it remains far less than the bare minimum to meet humanitarian needs.

Iran threatens 'evil' Israel

Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Wednesday that Israel "must be punished and it shall be" for attacking the Iranian embassy compound in Syria. In a major escalation of Israel's war with regional adversaries, suspected Israeli warplanes bombed Iran's consulate in the Syrian capital on April 1 in a strike that Iran said killed seven military advisers.

"When they attack the consulate, it is as if they have attacked our soil," Khamenei said in a speech marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "The evil regime made a mistake and must be punished and it shall be," he added.

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Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Wednesday that Israel will respond if Iran attacks Israel from its own soil. "If Iran attacks from its own territory, Israel will respond and attack in Iran," Katz said in a post on social media platform X.

Iran backs groups that have entered the fray across the region since Israel launched its invasion of Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attack that killed 1,200 people, according to Israeli tallies.

Commander of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL), Aroldo Lazaro, said on Wednesday the danger of escalation on the Lebanon-Israel border was real. 

"UNIFIL calls for a return to the cessation of hostilities, and a move towards a permanent ceasefire and a long-term solution to the conflict", Lazaro said in a statement.

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