Biden and Netanyahu hold first conversation in weeks

President Joe Biden and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu have held their first call in weeks, a conversation that comes as Israel expands its ground incursion into Lebanon and considers how to respond to Iran’s recent ballistic missile attack.

Mr Netanyahu’s office also confirmed that the prime minister had recently spoken with former president Donald Trump.

Mr Trump, a Republican who is the midst of a close White House race against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris, called Mr Netanyahu last week and “congratulated him on the intense and determined operations that Israel carried out against Hezbollah”, according to Mr Netanyahu’s office.

Israel has been discussing how to respond to the Iranian missile barrage from October 1, which the United States helped to fend off.

Mr Biden last week said he would not support a retaliatory Israeli strike on sites related to Tehran’s nuclear programme.

Israel’s other choices range from a largely symbolic strike — similar to how Israel responded after Iran launched missiles and attack drones in April — to hitting oil facilities and other infrastructure.

Since the leaders’ last call, Israel has carried out a sabotage and assassination campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, where the militant group has continued to fire missiles, rockets and drones at Israel.

Israel is now undertaking what it has described as limited ground operations across its northern border with Lebanon to dig out Hezbollah.

Airstrikes killed the group’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and decimated its leadership.

Last month, thousands of explosives hidden in pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah detonated, killing dozens of people and maiming thousands, including many civilians.

Israel is widely believed to be behind the attack

The US has maintained a stepped-up troop presence in the region, to defend Israel and American interests in the Middle East.

Washington has grown increasingly vocal with Israeli officials about the need to be kept in the loop on their decision-making to ensure the protection of US forces.

Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, had been scheduled to meet with defence secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday, but the Israelis postponed the visit, according to Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.

The Biden-Netanyahu call took place one day after disclosures from journalist Bob Woodward’s new book, War, that Mr Biden has privately made his frustration and distrust of Israeli leader known.

Mr Biden said he felt, in Mr Woodward’s accounting, that Mr Netanyahu “had been lying to him regularly”.

With Mr Netanyahu “continuing to say he was going to kill every last member of Hamas”.

Mr Woodward wrote: “Biden had told him that was impossible, threatening both privately and publicly to withhold offensive US weapons shipment.”

The White House declined to comment.