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April 4 (UPI) -- The White House confirmed Thursday that President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke in their first conversation since Israel's military killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza earlier this week. One of them was American.
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A White House readout of the call said, "President Biden emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable. He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers."
Axios, citing two unnamed U.S. officials, reported Biden was angry and the temperature regarding Netanyahu was "very high."
A second official confirmed that was the atmosphere at the White House ahead of the call.
During the call, according to the White House, Biden "made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel's immediate action on these steps. He underscored that an immediate ceasefire is essential 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."
In a Thursday statement on the World Central Kitchen website, Javier Garcia, Executive Co-Chair/Treasurer and Erin Gore, Chief Executive Officer, said, "This was a military attack that involved multiple strikes and targeted three WCK vehicles. All three vehicles were carrying civilians; they were marked as WCK vehicles; and their movements were in full compliance with Israeli authorities, who were aware of their itinerary, route, and humanitarian mission."
WCK also asked the governments of Australia, Canada and Britain to join in an independent, third-party investigation into the attacks.
Israeli Economy Minister Nir Barkat told BBC News Andres allegations the attack was intentional were "nonsense."
He insisted the killings were a grave mistake and not intentional. Barkat said Israel was very sorry for the deaths.
Biden said Tuesday he was outraged by the Israeli strike and said that kind of attack "simply should not happen." He blamed Israel for failing to protect humanitarian aid workers and Gaza civilians.
National Security Council Spokesman John Kirby said despite Biden's anger over the strike, the United States won't conduct an independent investigation of the killings as World Central Kitchen is asking the government to do.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday Biden understands how World Central Kitchen founder Chef Jose Andres feels about Israel killing the aid workers working for his organization.
