Joe Biden has said he will be talking to Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu but has not given details on when. 

The US president avoided a question on what the leaders would talk about, saying: “I’ll tell you what I say to him when I talk to him.” 

Asked whether all-out war in the Middle East could be avoided, he replied: “It has to be. We really have to avoid it.” 

The US is a strong ally of Israel but has repeatedly said it wants to avoid escalation in the Middle East. 

Israeli opposition politician joins government, boosting Netanyahu’s power

Gideon Saar is rejoining Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, the pair have announced today, in a move that is likely to strengthen the premier politically. 

Mr Saar has previously been one of Mr Netanyahu’s most vocal critics and is seen as further to the right politically than the prime minister. 

He is due to serve as a minister without a portfolio and have a seat in the prime minister’s cabinet, Israeli TV station N12 has said. 

It is thought that expanding the government to include Mr Saar will strengthen Mr Netanyahu by making him less reliant on other members of his ruling coalition, which is struggling in the polls. 

It also reduces the power of far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who has threatened to bring the government down if it ends the war in Gaza.

In a joint statement, Mr Netanyahu and Mr Saar said they were putting their past rifts aside, as “difficult and trying days lie ahead”. 

“We will work together, shoulder to shoulder, and I intend to seek his [Saar’s] assistance in the forums that influence the conduct of the war,” Mr Netanyahu said.