Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to oppose Palestinian sovereignty in comments made today, seemingly pushing back against Joe Biden’s summary of the pair’s talks.

Mr Biden had said a path to a two-state solution was possible while Mr Netanyahu was still in office, with a non-militarized government being one possible option.

But the Israeli prime minister’s office has said: “In his conversation with President Biden, Prime Minister Netanyahu reiterated his policy that after Hamas is destroyed, Israel must retain security control over Gaza to ensure that Gaza will no longer pose a threat to Israel, a requirement that contradicts the demand for Palestinian sovereignty.”

Asked to clarify whether Mr Netanyahu is opposed to any kind of Palestinian statehood, his office did not immediately respond.

On Thursday, US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said there was no way to solve Israel’s long-term security challenges and the short-term challenges of rebuilding Gaza without the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Rocket attack on US forces at Iraqi airbase

An attack with multiple rockets has targeted US forces at Al-Asad Airbase in Iraq, the Reuters news agency is reporting citing three sources.

Attackers fired multiple rockets at US forces, two security sources and one government source told the news agency.