Days after the October 7 attack, Joe Biden walked onto the tarmac in Tel Aviv and offered a warm bear hug to Benjamin Netanyahu, a sign both of solid support for Israel and the US president’s long, if not uncomplicated, relationship with the prime minister.

Seven months into the devastating conflict, the gentle approach is over. Biden, who memorably once wrote to Netanyahu “I love you,” has for the first time raised the ultimate leverage the United States has on Israel — military aid, which totals $3 billion a year.

Biden — whose backing for Israel in the face of civilian casualties had riled the left of his Democratic Party months before elections — has been incensed that Netanyahu has rejected appeals to stay out of Rafah, the southern Gaza city where the United Nations says some 1.4 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering.

Biden administration officials initially saw Netanyahu’s vows to attack Rafah as rhetorical. But in talks with the prime minister, including a visit last week by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US officials have been convinced that Netanyahu is serious.