Biden says he'll speak with Netanyahu soon and that a wider war must be avoided
US President Joe Biden says he’ll speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu soon as tensions in the Middle East increase following Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
“Yes, I will be talking to him,” Biden said Sunday as he headed for the White House from Dover Air Force Base.
He added “we really have to avoid” all-out war in the Middle East, saying, “We’ve already taken precautions relative to our embassies and personnel who want to leave, but we’re not there yet. But we’re working like hell with the French and many others.”
Some background: Before Nasrallah’s killing, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu brushed off a ceasefire proposal brokered by the United States and France that called for a 21-day pause in fighting across the Israel-Lebanon border, infuriating American officials who had been led to believe he was on board.
Israel informed the US it was launching its major operation in Beirut only after it was underway — again, to the frustration of some American officials.
Already at odds with Netanyahu over the nearly yearlong war in Gaza, Biden is now working to calm two fronts at a moment when his influence on Netanyahu’s decision-making appears to be at an all-time low.
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