More than a million people in the crowded northern part of the region have been ordered to flee ahead of the expected attack, with aid groups saying the exodus would lead to a humanitarian disaster.
Israel has also cut off the supply of food, water and electricity to Gaza’s 2.4 million people.
Biden spoke by phone with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday and “reaffirmed his support for all efforts to protect civilians,” the White House said in a statement, which did not specifically mention Gaza. .
“President Biden discussed with Prime Minister Netanyahu U.S. coordination with the United Nations, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, and others in the region to ensure innocent civilians have access to water, food, and medical care,” the White House said. “
Biden also spoke to Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas for the first time since hostilities began a week ago and “condemned Hamas’s brutal attack on Israel.”
According to a White House statement, Biden told Abbas, “Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination.”