Biden demands 'immediate ceasefire' in hour-long call to Netanyahu after IDF airstrike killed seven aid workers: White House warns U.S. could yank support if Bibi doesn't make changes in next 'hours and days'

A furious President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the airstrikes that killed seven aid workers were 'unacceptable' and demanded he push toward an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Biden, 81, upped the ante in the hour-long phone call on Thursday and and warned Bibi that Israel could lose American support if civilians kept getting hurt and killed. The White House said it want changes within 'hours and days.'

The U.S. president has faced increasing pressure to get tougher on Netanyahu after the strike that killed seven food aid workers, including a dual American-Canadian citizen earlier this week.

The call on Thursday is a turning point, with Biden saying the situation in Gaza cannot carry on like this. 

President Joe Biden spoke on the phone with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the strike that killed seven aid workers for the World Central Kitchen; above Biden and Netanyahu in Israel in October

'President Biden emphasized that the strikes on humanitarian workers and the overall humanitarian situation are unacceptable,' the White House said in a readout of the conversation.

'He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers. He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel's immediate action on these steps.'

Biden has been under pressure at home and abroad to do more to ensure civilian safety in Gaza. And he's faced criticism for being angry behind the scenes but not expressing that in public. 

Even first lady Jill Biden has encouraged the president to end the bloodshed, telling him to 'Stop it, stop it now.'

The president shared his wife's option on the war at an event with Muslim leaders, the New York Times reported.

On their call Thursday, Biden also urged Netanyahu for an immediate ceasefire.

'He underscored that an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians, and he urged the Prime Minister to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home,' the White House said in its readout.

The White House declined to say what specific steps they wanted to see but made it clear they want to see them soon - within 'hours and days.'

'There has to be tangible steps, let's see what [Israelis] announce, let's see what they do,' White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said. 

'We expect that there will be some some announcements coming from Israel in the coming hours and days.' 

He described Biden as 'shaken' by the attack. 

'We're looking for concrete steps to alleviate humanitarian suffering in Gaza,' he said. 'If there's no changes to their policy and their approaches then there's going to have to be changes to ours.' 

Secretary of State Antony Blinken echoed Biden's message.

'With regard to our policy in Gaza, look I'll just say this; If we don't see the changes that we need to see, there will be a change in our policy,' he said during a press conference in Brussels where he is attending a NATO meeting. 

Leaders across the world were outraged when aid workers from World Central Kitchen were killed in an Israeli drone strike

A vehicle where workers from World Central Kitchen were attacked in Gaza

Biden was reported to be 'p***ed' at the prime minister and progressive lawmakers are pushing the president to cut aid to Israel. 

The Biden administration is currently weighing an $18 billion arms transfer package to Israel that would include dozens of F-15 aircraft, according to reports.

But former aides to Barack Obama signaled disgust Wednesday with details about Biden being privately angry behind the scenes instead of expressing that in public

'The President doesn't get credit for being 'privately enraged' when he still refuses to use leverage to stop the IDF from killing and starving innocent people,' wrote former Obama speechwriter Jon Favreau wrote on X. 'These stories only make him look weak.'

'I'm glad that US officials are outraged about the IDF massacre of World Central Kitchen workers (at least on background), but there have to be consequences for it to matter,' former national security spokesman Tommy Vietor wrote on X. 'Demand accountability and more aid trucks into Gaza. Stop transferring weapons.'

And in key battleground states in the 2024 election, Biden has faced protest votes in the Democratic primaries from progressives angry about his Gaza policy. 

Israel is investigating the drone strike that killed the World Central Kitchen workers, who were delivering food to starving Palestinians in the Gaza strip.

The latest tete-a-tete between the two leaders comes as relations between Washington and Tel Aviv are detriorating over American fury not enough is being done to help the civilian population and Palestinian refugees. 

Biden and Netanyahu last spoke on March 18th but this was their first conversation since the strike.

Meanwhile, celebrity chef Jose Andres told Reuters in an emotional interview on Wednesday that his aid workers were tageted 'systematically, car by car.'

He said his charity had clear communication with the Israeli military, which he said knew his aid workers' movements.

'This was not just a bad luck situation where 'oops' we dropped the bomb in the wrong place,' Andres said.

'This was over a 1.5, 1.8 kilometers, with a very defined humanitarian convoy that had signs in the top, in the roof, a very colorful logo that we are obviously very proud of,' he said. 'It's 'very clear who we are and what we do.' 

Jacob Flickinger, 33, was a dual citizen of America and Canada who was killed in the strike. He was a veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces who served in Afghanistan.

Flickinger's father wrote in a Facebook message paying tribute to his son: 'My son, Jacob, was killed Monday delivering food aid to starving families in Gaza. He died doing what he loved and serving others through his work with the World Central Kitchen.'

A GoFundMe was set up to help Flickinger's partner Sandy, whom he shared a one-year-old son with, pay for any flights and funeral costs, as well as take off some of the burden considering Flickinger was the sole earner.

Dual American-Canadian citizen 33-year-old Jacob Flickinger (right) was among the seven killed in the IDF drone attack

Biden described himself as 'outraged and heartbroken' in his statement condemning the attack.  

He said Israel 'has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians' as thousands of Palestinians are caught in the crosshairs of war and left without food, water and other necessary supplies.

Israel apologized for what it called 'a grave mistake' and said it is investigating the incident.

International outrage ensued after the convoy of aid workers for World Central Kitchen was hit by an Israeli 'triple tap' drone strike on Monday, leaving seven dead. The three cars were marked as humanitarian aid and were struck while moving along a route approved by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

At least 196, including 175 members of the UN staff, aid workers have been killed in Gaza, according to United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.