Biden says he urged Netanyahu to accommodate Palestinians’ “legitimate concerns.”

President Biden said Thursday that in the days since the start of the war in Gaza, he urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent civilian deaths and respond to Palestinian concerns, while maintaining steadfast U.S. support for Israel.

Mr. Biden spoke with MSNBC anchor Lawrence O’Donnell in his final television interview while in office, during which he also discussed his political career and presidency. The interview, which aired Thursday evening, was recorded earlier in the day.

The 15-month war, which began after Hamas led a deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. Most of Gaza’s population of about two million has been displaced at least once, and much of the Strip has been destroyed.

Mr. Biden and other leaders announced a temporary decision Ceasefire agreement On Wednesday, that raised hopes that Israel’s military assault on Gaza would end. Under the agreement to stop fighting, some hostages held by Hamas in Gaza will be released.

The president and his advisers struggled for months to negotiate an end to the conflict. Mr. Biden, who put the ceasefire agreement on the table in MayHe said on MSNBC that he repeatedly told Mr. Netanyahu that he “has to find a way to accommodate the legitimate concerns” of the Palestinians. He described Mr. Netanyahu as a friend, but said: “We don’t see eye to eye much lately.”

Critics, including some of the hostage families who pushed for a ceasefire agreement, accused Mr. Netanyahu of deliberately stalling negotiations to prolong the conflict. Mr. Biden did not answer directly when asked whether he thought Mr. Netanyahu did that. He said the Israeli prime minister was under political pressure from the Israeli right, and was sometimes forced to “do some things that I thought were counterproductive.”

To achieve a ceasefire agreement, President-elect Donald J. Trump and Mr. Biden directed their advisors to do so Work together. Biden said in an interview on Thursday that he had not had any discussions with Mr. Trump about negotiations over the past two weeks.

Mr. Biden noted that the first time he urged Mr. Netanyahu to prevent the killing of civilians was during a visit to Israel 10 days after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Biden said he informed the prime minister that the United States would do so. She supports Israel, but “you can’t bomb these communities.”

Israeli bombing campaign It was one of the most intense wars of the 21st century, and the country sometimes used imprecise bombs.

During the interview, Mr. Biden defended his unwavering support for Israel throughout the conflict.

“When Iran thought it was going to wipe Israel off the map — it had thousands of missiles on its way,” he said. “Well, guess what? We didn’t let that happen.”