WASHINGTON, October 22. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the phone to discuss the situation around the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, the White House said on Sunday.

It said that a readout will be released shortly.

Apart from that, Biden was briefed on the situation around the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Brown, and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.

Tensions flared up in the Middle East after Hamas militants from the Gaza Strip attacked Israeli territory. Hamas views its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ steps against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.