Biden’s Israel Balancing Act Gets Harder as Gaza Offensive Grows

Biden combines public embrace with private signals to Israel
Balancing act getting harder as fighting intensifies in Gaza

Israeli forces pass destroyed buildings in Gaza City on Nov. 1.Source: Israeli Defense Forces/Getty Images

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By Iain Marlow and Peter Martin

November 1, 2023 at 11:00 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

After internet and mobile phone service abruptly disappeared in the Gaza Strip on Friday, US officials gave Israel a quiet but clear message: Get the networks up and running again.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government quickly obliged, even as Israeli tanks and troops pushed into the enclave in the opening assaults of its ground invasion.