The cease-fire is still conditional on the release of the hostages.

That appears to be what is changing, as they are not mentioned front and center anymore, and the NSC spokesman John Kirby refers to a “shift” having taken place since the World Central Kitchen workers were killed:

The U.S. has been pressing for a cease-fire in Gaza for months, though Biden had conditioned the cease-fire on Hamas’s willingness to release the more than 100 hostages still held in Gaza. According to the White House statement Thursday, Biden told Netanyahu “that an immediate cease-fire is essential to stabilize and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians, and he urged the Prime Minister to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to bring the hostages home.”

The White House statement was followed by an even more pointed warning against Israel by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“If we don’t see the changes that we need to see, there will be changes in our own policy,” Blinken said at a press conference in Brussels.

John Kirby, the White House National Security Council spokesman, wouldn’t say in a briefing to reporters after the Biden-Netanyahu call whether the U.S. was considering placing conditions on military aid to Israel. “There are too many civilians being killed,” he said.

Kirby said that the U.S. was expecting Israel to take steps the U.S. is seeking in the coming “hours and days.” He added that Biden was “shaken” by the deadly strikes on aid workers for World Central Kitchen in Gaza this week, explaining the timing of the U.S. shift toward Israel. “I would characterize this call as very direct, very businesslike, very professional on both sides.”

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