Biden says he'll speak with Israeli leader, vowing all-out war in the Middle East must be avoided
President Joe Biden says he will speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and believes an all-out war in the Middle East has to be avoided
By STEPHEN GROVES and AAMER MADHANI
Published - Sep 29, 2024, 03:36 PM ET
Last Updated - Dec 16, 2024, 06:49 PM EST
DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden said Sunday he would speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and believes that an all-out war in the Middle East must be avoided.
“It has to be," Biden told reporters as he boarded Air Force One for Washington. “We really have to avoid it.”
The president’s statements come as Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon killed dozens of people on Sunday. He would not say when he planned to speak with Netanyahu.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah sustained a string of deadly blows to its command structure, including the killing of its overall leader, Hassan Nasrallah, as part of a wave of increasingly brazen Israeli strikes meant to undercut the group's capacity to attack its territory.
