President Biden said Thursday that in the days after the war in Gaza began, he pushed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to prevent civilian deaths and to accommodate Palestinians’ concerns, while maintaining the United States’ firm support for Israel.
Mr. Biden spoke with the MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell in his last television interview while in office, during which he also discussed his political career and presidency. The interview, which aired Thursday night, was taped earlier in the day.
The 15-month-long war, which began after Hamas led a deadly attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians. Most of Gaza’s roughly two million residents have been displaced at least once, and much of the enclave has been destroyed.
Mr. Biden and other leaders announced a provisional cease-fire deal on Wednesday that has raised hopes that Israel’s military assault on Gaza will come to an end. Under the deal to halt the fighting, some hostages held by Hamas in Gaza would be released.
The president and his advisers struggled for months to negotiate an end to the conflict. Mr. Biden, who put the cease-fire deal on the table in May, said on MSNBC that he had told Mr. Netanyahu repeatedly that “he has to find a way to accommodate the legitimate concerns” of Palestinians. He called Mr. Netanyahu a friend but said, “We don’t agree a whole lot lately.”
Critics, including some families of hostages who have pressed for a cease-fire deal, have accused Mr. Netanyahu of intentionally stalling negotiations to prolong the conflict. Mr. Biden did not directly answer when asked whether he thought Mr. Netanyahu had done so. He said that the Israeli prime minister had come under political pressure from Israel’s right-wing, and was at times forced “to do some of the things that, in my belief, I thought were counterproductive.”
To achieve the cease-fire agreement, President-elect Donald J. Trump and Mr. Biden directed their advisers to work together. Mr. Biden said in the Thursday interview that he had had no discussions with Mr. Trump about the negotiations during the past two weeks.
Mr. Biden recalled that the first time he urged Mr. Netanyahu to prevent civilian deaths was during a visit to Israel 10 days after the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Mr. Biden said he told the prime minister that the United States would support Israel, but that “you can’t be carpet-bombing these communities.”
Israel’s bombing campaign has been one of the most intense in 21st-century warfare, and the country has at times used inaccurate bombs.
During the interview, Mr. Biden defended his steadfast support for Israel throughout the conflict.
“When Iran thought it was going to blow Israel off the map — they had those thousands of missiles heading their way,” he said. “Well, guess what? We didn’t let it happen.”