Joe Biden drew a red line with Israel this week, demanding an "immediate cease-fire" in Gaza as backlash mounts against Israel and its military offensive against Hamas.
The ultimatum came days after Biden told guests at the White House that his wife and closest confidante, Jill Biden, wants an end to the conflict in Gaza "now."
Biden shared his wife's comments at a meeting with Muslim leaders on Tuesday night, the New York Times reported. A guest was so struck by Biden's comment that she wrote it down.
“He said she said, ‘Stop it, stop it now, Joe,’” Salima Suswell, the founder of the Black Muslim Leadership Council, said.
White House officials said that Jill "was not calling for Israel to end its efforts against Hamas" and that she was expressing dismay with the deaths of civilians in Gaza, including seven aid workers who died in an airstrike this week.
“Just like the president, the first lady is heartbroken over the attacks on aid workers and the ongoing loss of innocent lives in Gaza,” Elizabeth Alexander, the first lady’s communications director, said in a statement. “They both want Israel to do more to protect civilians.”
Jill Biden's intervention comes after months of pressure on her husband from left-wing activists demanding a cease-fire.
Biden and his wife have been heckled on the campaign trail over the "genocide" of thousands of Palestinians and some White House officials have resigned in protest.
While Joe Biden has given Israel a number of warnings, his administration has continued to supply Israel with weapons as recently as Monday, the same day that seven World Central Kitchen workers were killed in an Israeli airstrike.
In a potential shift, Biden demanded an "immediate cease-fire" in a heated phone call Thursday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Biden warned of concrete policy changes if Israel does not do more to prevent harm to civilians.
"If we don't see changes from their side, there will have to be changes from our side," spokesman John Kirby said.
It isn't just Democrats who are criticizing Israel. While Republicans remain overwhelmingly supportive, President Trump urged Israel this week to "finish what they started" and warned they are "losing the PR war."
