Netanyahu hopes to overcome Biden disagreements

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he hopes he and US President Joe Biden can overcome their disagreements over the conflict in Gaza, after Biden withheld some weapons from Israel.

"We often had our agreements but we've had our disagreements. We've been able to overcome them. I hope we can overcome them now, but we will do what we have to do to protect our country," Netanyahu said in an interview on the "Dr. Phil Primetime" show.

On Thursday, Biden warned that arms supplies could be withheld over Israel's long-threatened move against Rafah.

The Biden administration has said it cannot support a major Rafah invasion in the absence of what it would deem a credible plan to safeguard non-combatants. Israel has said victory in the seven-month-old conflict is impossible without taking Rafah.

The Netanyahu government had kept silent over reports that Washington was holding back a shipment of aerial bombs until, on Wednesday, Biden went public with the measure, saying it was part of a US warning to the Israelis not to "go into Rafah".

"If we must stand alone, we shall stand alone," Netanyahu said without referring specifically to the US announcement. "If we must, we shall fight with our fingernails," he said in a video statement.