After public snub, Netanyahu expresses cautious hope for unity with Biden

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he hopes he and US President Joe Biden can overcome their disagreements over the war in Gaza after the Biden administration announced it is withholding weapon shipments for Israel.

"We often had our agreements but we've had our disagreements. We've been able to overcome them. I hope we can overcome them now, but we will do what we have to do to protect our country," Netanyahu said in an interview on the "Dr. Phil Primetime" show.

Acknowledging hundreds of Israeli soldiers were killed in Gaza, Netanyahu said on Thursday there is a need for a civilian government in Gaza, possibly with the support of the UAE and others.

Underscoring his intention to defeat Hamas resistance group in Gaza, which many experts say is impossible, the Israeli prime minister claimed his country destroyed 20 out of Hamas' 24 battalions in Gaza.

There was no immediate reaction from Hamas on Netanyahu's claims.

In a statement released earlier on Thursday, Netanyahu said, "If we have to stand alone, we will stand alone. If we need to, we will fight with our fingernails. But we have much more than fingernails."

Israeli frustration emanates from the US decision to pause a shipment of bombs to Israel amid concerns over their potential use in a full-scale Rafah invasion. US President Joe Biden defended the halt in weapons supplies on Thursday, saying the American bombs were used to kill Palestinian civilians.

Biden said in a CNN interview the US would not supply Israel with certain weapons and artillery shells if its military invades Rafah in southern Gaza where more than 1.5 million people are sheltering.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin confirmed that the US is pausing the shipment of "high-payload munitions" due to Israel's possible operations in Rafah without a plan for the civilians there.

“We’re going to continue to do what’s necessary to ensure that Israel has the means to defend itself, but that said, we are currently reviewing some near-term security assistance shipments in the context of unfolding events in Rafah,” Austin said at a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing.

Battle for Manila

Israel's prolonged bombing of besieged Gaza, now spanning 217 days, has resulted in a devastating toll: at least 34,904 were killed, with a staggering 70 percent comprising of babies, children, and women. The relentless violence has left over 78,514 wounded, while the harrowing reality of over 10,000 feared dead beneath the rubble of bombed buildings casts a shadow of despair over the region.

The WHO and other UN bodies have said that Hamas' government has "good capacity in data collection" and its previous reporting on death toll has been credible and "well developed".

Netanyahu on Thursday appeared to defend massive Palestinian civilian casualties in Gaza, saying "a great military historian" told him the only parallel for Gaza war that he can give is the "Battle for Manila" in WW2 in which US military forces were fighting 17,000 Japanese troops.

"Americans fought and fought bravely and eventually defeated the Japanese but they ended up killing 100,000 civilians," Netanyahu said.

"... Because when you hide in dense civilian areas that's what happens. Israel has not had this kind of ratio we've had much smaller ratio...," he added.