Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel spoke with President Biden on Wednesday for the first time since August, Mr. Netanyahu’s office said. Ties between the two leaders have soured as they have clashed repeatedly over Israel’s conduct in Gaza.
Details of the call were not immediately available. It came after Mr. Netanyahu’s defense minister, Yoav Gallant, delayed a much-anticipated trip to the United States that was set to start Wednesday, saying Mr. Netanyahu had asked him to put off the trip until the prime minister could speak to President Biden.
Mr. Gallant had expected to fly out Tuesday night for meetings with Lloyd J. Austin III and other senior U.S. officials to discuss Israel’s retaliation for the recent Iranian ballistic missile attack, among other matters.
In an indication of the strained ties, Mr. Biden called Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, rather than Mr. Netanyahu, to mark the anniversary of the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attacks that kicked off the war.
Given the disconnect between the two leaders, Mr. Gallant has emerged as a preferred channel for some of the Biden administration’s concerns. During his trip to Washington, he was also set to discuss Israel’s continued ground invasion in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed armed group.
A former general and a member of Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party, Mr. Gallant has publicly criticized the prime minister for failing to articulate a postwar vision for Gaza. In turn, Mr. Netanyahu has weighed ejecting him, despite a political taboo in Israel against removing a defense minister in a time of war.
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