President Biden said Thursday that in the days after the Gaza war began, he pushed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent civilian deaths and accommodate Palestinian concerns, while maintaining strong United States support for Israel.

Mr. Biden spoke to MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell in his final television interview while in office, during which he also discussed his political career and presidency. The interview, which aired Thursday night, was recorded earlier in the day.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed in the 15-month war, which began after Hamas led a deadly attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Most of Gaza’s approximately two million residents have been displaced at least once, and much of the enclave has been destroyed.

Mr. Biden and other leaders announced the interim ceasefire agreement on Wednesday that raised hopes that Israel’s military assault on Gaza would end. Under the ceasefire deal, some hostages held by Hamas in Gaza would be freed.

The president and his advisers have struggled for months to negotiate an end to the conflict. Mr. Biden, who put the ceasefire agreement on the table in Mayhe said on MSNBC that he had repeatedly told Mr. Netanyahu that he “must find a way to accommodate the legitimate concerns” of the Palestinians. He called Mr. Netanyahu a friend, but said: “We don’t really get along lately.”

Critics, including some families of the hostages who had sought a ceasefire, accused Mr. Netanyahu to deliberately delay the negotiations in order to prolong the conflict. Mr. Biden did not directly answer the question of whether he thought Mr. Netanyahu did it. He said the Israeli prime minister was under political pressure from the Israeli right and was occasionally forced “to do some things that I believe were counterproductive.”

To reach a ceasefire agreement, President-elect Donald J. Trump and Mr. Biden instructed their advisers to work together. Mr. Biden said in an interview Thursday that he had not spoken to Mr. Trump about the negotiations over the past two weeks.

Mr. Biden recalled that he first invited Mr. Netanyahu to prevent civilian deaths during a visit to Israel 10 days after a Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023. Mr. Biden said he told the prime minister that the United States would support Israel, but that “you can’t bomb those communities.”

Israel’s bombing campaign it was one of the most intense wars of the 21st century, and the country occasionally used inaccurate bombs.

During the interview, Mr. Biden has defended his unwavering support for Israel throughout the conflict.

“When Iran thought they were going to wipe Israel off the map – they had thousands of these missiles headed their way,” he said. “Well, guess what? We didn’t let that happen.”