(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden said he delivered a “blunt and straightforward” message to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on improving civilian conditions in Gaza.

“We’ll see what he does in terms of meeting the commitments he made to me,” Biden said Wednesday during a White House news conference with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Biden also urged the adoption of a proposal that would see a six-week cease-fire in exchange for the return of hostages being held by Hamas, saying the US remained committed to seeing their release.

“We’re not going to stop until we do,” he said.

The Israel-Hamas war, now in its seventh month, has weighed heavily on Biden’s reelection bid. The president signaled a breaking point last week, telling Netanyahu that US support for his war effort would depend on better protecting civilian lives in Gaza. 

Biden on Wednesday also called for Israel to open an additional crossing and allow more aid trucks to enter the war-torn region.

An Israeli strike that killed seven aid workers delivering food to Palestinians prompted the call between Biden and Netanyahu. The incident caused a global backlash and ramped up pressure on Biden to persuade Israel to allow more aid to flow into the devastated territory. The Israeli military has said the attack inadvertently targeted the aid convoy. 

Young voters, progressives and people of color — all crucial groups for Democrats — have increasingly voiced opposition to Biden’s handling of the conflict and urged him to place conditions on support for Israel or entirely cut off military assistance. The president can ill-afford defections in his November rematch with Republican Donald Trump.

Israeli officials this week said progress had been made in negotiations for a cease-fire in Gaza that would see the release of hostages held by Hamas, designated a terrorist group by the US and European Union, and Palestinian prisoners. It’s a shift in tone from the nation’s leaders, who had previously said large gaps remained between the two sides.

Earlier: Hamas Says Israeli Strike Killed Three Sons of Leader Haniyeh

Netanyahu said Monday that he had a date in mind to invade the city of Rafah — seen as the last bastion of Hamas and its leaders, but also where more than 1 million Palestinians fled during the war. Such a move would further strain US-Israeli relations. The White House has said it couldn’t support a full-scale ground invasion of Rafah, given the likelihood of widespread civilian deaths. 

Biden urged Netanyahu during their call last week to reach an immediate cease-fire deal to allow for hostages to be freed and more aid to reach Palestinians in Gaza. The White House has praised initial steps to boost the flow of shipments of food and medicine into the territory, but officials have said they want to see those efforts continue for a sustained period to satisfy their concerns.

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Aid Trucks

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday that the country is greatly intensifying its humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza, partly at the urging of the US, bringing the number of trucks entering the strip to 500 a day. Through most of the conflict, the number was about 200.

“My recent visit to the United States was essential in determining next steps and reflecting the link between our operational goals and the humanitarian effort,” he told a group of foreign correspondents in his Tel Aviv office.

Gallant announced that Israel is opening its port at Ashdod to receive goods to enter Gaza through a new northern entry it was creating. In addition, new aid routes from Jordan have been approved, as well as a deconfliction mechanism to reduce the risk of another mistaken killing as occurred last week with the seven aid workers. Israel is also working to fix bombed-out infrastructure, including installing new water lines, he said.

--With assistance from Justin Sink.

(Updates with briefing by Israeli defense minister in final three paragraphs)

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