United States President Joe Biden has said he does not want to see a “full-scale war” break out in Lebanon, a day after Israeli forces launched a massive bombing campaign that has killed hundreds of people across the country.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Tuesday, Biden said a diplomatic solution between Israel and the Lebanese group Hezbollah is the only path forward.
“Full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest,” he said.
For months, the US president has faced calls to condition his administration’s support for Israel as it wages war on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 41,400 Palestinians. Experts have also warned Biden that the war on Gaza could lead to a wider regional conflict.
But the Democrat – who is not seeking re-election in November – has maintained his staunch backing of the Israeli government, drawing continued criticism of his approach.
His speech came as the Lebanese Health Ministry said on Tuesday that at least 569 people, including 50 children, had been killed and 1,835 wounded in Israel’s bombardment of various parts of the country this week.
The Israeli military also continued to pound the Gaza Strip, killing at least 37 people throughout the day on Tuesday, according to the Palestinian Civil Defence.
During his UNGA address, Biden reiterated his call for Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian group that governs Gaza, to agree to a ceasefire deal that would also secure the release of Israeli captives held in the Palestinian enclave.
But critics say Biden’s failure to apply pressure on Israel has allowed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to scuttle ceasefire efforts – and to escalate Israeli military attacks on Lebanon.
Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, said that despite Biden claiming that he does not want to see a regional conflict break out, the US is “helping the escalation towards war”.
“They continue to support Israel’s military unconditionally,” Bishara said.
“Netanyahu is leading the area to the brink, to a disaster, and the United States is protecting him, shielding him, financing him and arming him.”
Lebanon’s foreign minister also said he was disappointed in Biden’s Middle East remarks at the General Assembly.
“It was not strong, it is not promising, and it would not solve the Lebanese problem,” Abdallah Bou Habib said during a Carnegie Endowment for International Peace event.
Support for Ukraine
Biden also used his speech to highlight his administration’s support for Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion.
Washington has provided Kyiv with tens of billions of dollars in military and other aid since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.
“The good news is [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s war has failed at his core aim. He set out to destroy Ukraine, but Ukraine is still free,” Biden said.
“We cannot grow weary, we cannot look away, and we will not let up on our support for Ukraine, not until Ukraine wins with a just, durable peace.”
But US assistance to Ukraine could be in doubt if former President Donald Trump – who has said he plans to scale back the support – defeats Vice President Kamala Harris in November’s US presidential election.
Trump said on Tuesday that the US needs to get out of the war in Ukraine and that Biden and Harris had no plan to do so.
“Biden and Kamala got us into this war in Ukraine and now they can’t get us out. They can’t get us out,” he said in a speech in the US state of Georgia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pressing the Biden administration to loosen restrictions on the use of Western-supplied long-range missiles so that Ukrainian forces can hit deeper inside Russia, disrupting logistical supply lines.
Biden and Harris are scheduled to hold separate meetings on Thursday with Zelenskyy in Washington, DC, where the Ukrainian leader is also due to meet with Democratic and Republican members of Congress.
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