Inside Biden and Netanyahu's Explosive Clashes Over the Gaza War
A new book by top adviser Brett McGurk reveals that U.S. President Joe Biden nearly cut off military aid to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during intense tensions over the war in Gaza.
In the spring of 2024, as advisers gathered in the Oval Office, they found U.S. President Joe Biden on the verge of a furious outburst. His face was as red as a beet and he looked ready to explode, according to his senior Middle East adviser Brett McGurk. President Biden was so incensed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the conduct of the war in Gaza that he appeared close to completely breaking away from the conflict and halting critical U.S. weapon shipments. Bibi, man, what the hell are you doing? Biden demanded to know during a phone call. Do you think I am Santa Claus? There is no Santa in Israel, my friend.
This was one of the most explosive moments in the tense relationship that consumed a significant portion of the final 15 months of the Biden presidency. Now, in a first-of-its-kind insider account of the president's struggles to manage the war, Brett McGurk reveals just how close the two leaders came to a total rupture. In his new book, Brink, published this week, McGurk describes the bumpy road from the Hamas terror attack of October 7, 2023, to the cease-fire and hostage release agreement signed in the final days of the administration. According to The New York Times, which revealed details of the book, the Gaza issue tormented Biden more than any other foreign policy topic, and he faced criticism from the left for not reining in Netanyahu and from the right for reining him in too much.
A Crisis Like No Other
McGurk notes that the president always said this was the worst crisis he had faced in his career. For McGurk himself, who spent over a year shuttling to the Middle East, the crisis took a personal toll, even including a hernia due to stress and travel. It was the most complex, difficult, and harrowing crisis I have ever seen, noted the 53-year-old McGurk, a trained lawyer who advised four presidents. McGurk outlines how the spring of 2024 became a breaking point. While in the final three months of 2023 the two leaders spoke 20 times, in the first quarter of 2024 they spoke only twice. The president was angered by civilian casualties and the delay of humanitarian aid.
The boiling point was reached on April 1, when IDF forces mistakenly struck a convoy and killed seven aid workers from World Central Kitchen. First Lady Jill Biden wrote in her memoirs that she was so angered by the incident that she left a note for her husband on the bathroom mirror: Net, you have to stop. Three days later, Biden was scheduled to speak with Netanyahu. He was simply satisfied with everything, and I think at that moment he was ready to say, 'I'm done, you're finished,' McGurk said in an interview with The New York Times.
The Turning Point and Iran's Intervention
Some advisers urged Biden to threaten a cutoff of support to Israel. However, CIA Director William Burns argued that a deal with Hamas remained the only path to freeing the hostages, which required continued support for Israel in the meantime. In the phone call, as the president made clear he was not Santa Claus, with words that sprayed with spit, as McGurk writes, Netanyahu asked what he meant. Biden replied that he could cut off military aid to Israel with the flick of a finger. When Netanyahu tried to explain that the incident was a tragic misunderstanding, Biden cut him off and said, I don't want to hear that, Bibi.
Despite the disagreements, McGurk notes that no single event destroyed the relationship between the leaders, though Netanyahu tended to blame Biden for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's speech calling for elections in Israel. At one point Biden even delayed a shipment of heavy bombs to Israel, a step that McGurk believes only worsened the situation because it made Hamas think it could win and entrench its positions in negotiations.
The one who ultimately saved Netanyahu from Biden's wrath that tense April month was actually Iran. Tehran was about to launch an unprecedented barrage of missiles and drones, and Biden, despite his frustration, immediately stood by Israel. After air defense systems intercepted the threat almost entirely, Biden sought to restrain Netanyahu from responding in a way that would ignite a regional war. When asked to explain to his team what he would tell the prime minister, Biden replied, I just saved his ass, that's what I'll say. Let's cut it off here. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan suggested a more diplomatic phrasing: Take the victory. Netanyahu initially objected and argued that these lunatics needed to be taught a lesson, but ultimately avoided a heavy counterattack.
