Former President Joe Biden reportedly had a tense private call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in April 2024, during which he threatened to cut off U.S. military aid to Israel. The account comes from former Biden adviser Brett McGurk’s forthcoming book, ‘Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7th Hostages,’ which details the administration’s efforts to secure a hostage deal and prevent a wider regional war.
A new book details Joe Biden’s heated private exchange with Benjamin Netanyahu
According to OK! Magazine, McGurk recounts the April 4, 2024, call in his book. McGurk, who served as Biden’s White House coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, wrote that the administration feared an imminent Iranian missile and drone attack on Israel could trigger a wider regional war. The call also came days after an Israeli strike killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza.
McGurk writes that Biden confronted Netanyahu directly, saying, “Bibi, man, what the f*ck are you doing?” He then added, “You think I’m Santa Claus? No Santa in Israel, pal.”
According to McGurk, Biden told Netanyahu he could cut off military aid “with the snap of a finger,” while Netanyahu responded that Israel would defend itself without U.S. support. Biden then said the U.S. would help defend Israel against Iran but would immediately push to end the war and free the hostages afterward. “That’s the deal, pal,” Biden said before ending the call.
McGurk also wrote that the U.S. might have taken stronger action against Israel if Iran had not been preparing its attack. “If not for the pending Iranian attack, the U.S. might have taken irreversible measures against Israel at this juncture,” he wrote. “My own mind wrestled with whether this might have been a better course.”
At the time, the White House publicly said Biden had warned Netanyahu that U.S. policy toward Gaza would depend on Israel taking “specific, concrete, and measurable” steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering and the safety of aid workers.
The account presents the exchange as part of the Biden administration’s effort to balance continued support for Israel with pressure to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, restart hostage negotiations and prevent a broader war with Iran.
