Biden shares blunt message to Israel ahead of ‘imminent’ ground invasion of Lebanon as US embassy works frantically to get Americans out of Beirut
President Biden gave an emphatic answer when asked if he was comfortable with Israel’s plan as the U.S. ally gathers troops on the border with Lebanon, and it remained far from approval.
Biden was asked at the White House on Monday whether he was “comfortable” with what is being called a limited invasion. His response took that word and instead called on Israel to restrain itself.
“I’m more aware than you might know, and I’m okay with them stopping. We should have a ceasefire now,” Biden said.
It came hours after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “diplomacy remains the best and only path to achieving greater stability in the Middle East.”
He answered the question at the White House on Monday, despite saying he wanted to stick to the topic of Hurricane Helene recovery.
His comments follow reports that Israel is planning a limited ground operation in Lebanon, following a series of devastating attacks on Hezbollah’s leadership and weapons, even as it gathers troops on the border.
‘We should have a ceasefire now,’ President Joe Biden said when asked about reports of an Israeli ‘limited’ invasion of Lebanon
Blinken also said the US “will continue to work with our partners in the region and around the world to advance a diplomatic resolution that provides real security to Israel and Lebanon,” even while justifying the Israeli airstrike that called the “brazen terrorist’ Hasan. Nasrallah by targeting Hezbollah’s underground headquarters in Beruit.
An American official told the newspaper WashingtonPost Israel is planning a ‘limited’ ground operation, which could start immediately.
Israeli armored military vehicles are lined up in formation, amid cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel, in northern Israel, September 30, 2024, amid reports of an ‘imminent’ invasion
The Israeli army already carried out cross-border raids on Monday.
Such a “limited” invasion appears likely to end Israel’s 2006 war against Hamas in Lebanon. It comes days after Israel eliminated the longtime Hezbollah leader, heralding a plan that will end well before Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
U.S. officials publicly and privately urged restraint before Israel invaded Rafah in southern Gaza, and have urged restraint at other times as they pressed for a ceasefire and the release of hostages held by Hamaz during the brutal attack seized in Israel on October 7.
Biden on Saturday called Nasrallah’s death a “measure of justice” for his victims. Then asked if an Israeli invasion was inevitable, Biden replied: “It’s time for a ceasefire.”
US diplomats rush to help US citizens leaving Beirut.
The embassy announced on Monday that it is working with airlines to help American citizens leave after a series of air strikes.
Pressed about Biden’s comments and whether he was indeed urging restraint, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre repeatedly said Israel has the right to defend itself against Hezbollah.
“What we have said is that Israel consistently has the right to defend itself against Hezbollah. We do not shed tears over a terrorist. That terrorist has American blood on his hands, and we certainly won’t shed a tear about that. We have been very clear that Israel has the right to defend itself,” she said, calling the support “rock solid.”
More than a thousand people have been killed in Israel’s latest air campaign. At least a hundred thousand people have crossed into war-torn Syria to avoid the bombardment. The makeshift shelters in the capital are desperately overcrowded, according to the UNHCR.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met with troops near the Lebanese border today, insisting that Israel would “use all the options we have” to ensure the return of some 60,000 Israelis who fled from the north have been displaced by almost a year of border conflict.
He added that “whatever needs to be done will be done” and that “we will use all the forces of the air, sea and land.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, issued a stark warning to the Iranian regime, now threatening retaliation for the attacks on Hezbollah, claiming that “there is no point in the Middle East that Israel cannot reach.”