An Israeli official said that US President Joe Biden's decision to withdraw from the presidential race encouraged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take stronger decisions against Iran.

The Israeli official added to the Telegraph that Biden, before withdrawing from the presidential race, was trying to rein in Netanyahu. He continued: "Biden asked Netanyahu not to respond strongly to Iran's attacks, and Iran knows this and has exploited it to attack Israel. Now Biden will do what he thinks is right."

“President Biden’s agenda is to fully support Israel, and he has done so for decades, and Netanyahu knows that, so he feels confident about attacking Israel’s enemies forcefully while maintaining the support of the United States,” the official said.

Netanyahu may feel “less committed to the lame duck,” said Dan Arbel, a resident scholar at the American University’s Center for Israel Studies, referring to Biden, who is nearing the end of his final term. But he doesn’t think that’s what prompted Netanyahu to assassinate Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and senior Hezbollah leader Fuad Shukr in Beirut.

Arbil adds: “Although Biden supplies Israel with ammunition, and sent an aircraft carrier to the region as a message to Israel’s enemies, he does not give it absolute approval to do whatever it wants.”

He believes that Biden is considering the impact of every step in support of Israel on the campaign of his deputy Kamala Harris, who is running for the presidential elections.

Another Israeli official told the Telegraph that Biden wants a ceasefire to end his presidential term, stressing that the last phone call between Biden and Netanyahu was tense.