Biden speaks to Netanyahu, Abbas after Israel flattens AP news office in Gaza

President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have spoken about the situation with Gaza.

According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, the Israeli leader updated Biden on the developments and actions that Israel has taken and intends to take. It says Netanyahu also thanked Biden for the “unreserved support of the United States for our right to defend ourselves.”

It says Netanyahu emphasized in the conversation that Israel is doing everything to avoid harming the uninvolved. The statement added “the proof of this is that in the towers where there are terrorist targets attacked by the IDF, they are evacuated from the uninvolved.”

The Biden-Netanyahu call came just hours after an Israeli airstrike on Saturday targeted and destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed offices of The Associated Press and other media outlets.

Meanwhile, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received an “important” phone call on Saturday from Biden, Abbas’s spokesman said, the first call between the two leaders since Biden took office in January.

Biden told Abbas the United States “is making efforts with the concerned parties to reach the goal” of reducing violence in the region, a summary of the call published by WAFA said.

He also said the United States opposes the eviction of Palestinians from East Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah, the summary said, a case that helped ignite tension in the holy city and spark fighting between Israel and Gaza militants.