President Joe Biden said Sunday he will talk to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and believes a full-scale war in the Middle East should be avoided.
“It has to happen,” Biden told reporters as he boarded Air Force One for Washington. “We really have to avoid this.”
The President’s statement comes at a time when dozens of people were killed in Israeli air strikes in Lebanon on Sunday. He did not say when he planned to talk to Netanyahu.
Iran-backed Hezbollah continued a series of deadly attacks on its command structures, including the assassination of its overall leader Hassan Nasrallah, as part of a wave of rapidly escalating Israeli strikes in response to the group’s attempts to strike its territory. To reduce capacity.
Thousands of Israelis and Lebanese have been forced to evacuate near the Israel-Lebanon border as Hezbollah has launched almost daily rocket attacks on Israel over the past 11 months and Israel has responded with attacks of its own.
With thousands of civilians on both sides displaced, the Biden administration has sought to bring about a negotiated solution that would allow them to return home and prevent broader regional conflict.
Earlier on Sunday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Israel had “wiped out” Hezbollah’s command structure in a barrage of airstrikes that killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and several of the group’s leaders.
But Kirby warned that Hezbollah would work quickly to rebuild.
“I think people are safer without him roaming around,” Kirby said, referring to Nasrallah’s death in Friday’s attack. “But they will try to recover. We’re watching what they do to fill this leadership void. It’s going to be tough.”
Kirby ignored a question about whether the administration agreed with how Israel is targeting Hezbollah leaders, who the Israelis say have built command structures and other facilities near or beneath civilian sites. According to Lebanese officials, several innocent civilians have also been killed in the attacks.
The White House has been repeatedly calling on Israel and Hezbollah to agree to a 21-day temporary ceasefire, which was issued by the US, France and other countries as world leaders gathered for the UN General Assembly last week.
“If you want to bring those people home safely and permanently, we believe the diplomatic route is the right path,” Kirby said.
He made the comments during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” program.
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