US President Biden does not believe there will be 'outbreak wars' in the Middle East via Reuters

Written by Kanishka Singh, Timour Azhari and Ari Rabinovitch

WASHINGTON/BEIRUT/JERUSALEM (Reuters) – US President Joe Biden said he does not believe there will be “endless war” in the Middle East, as Israel looks for ways to retaliate after Tehran's biggest-ever attack. the enemy.

However, Biden said that more needs to be done to avoid war in the Middle East, as the Israeli military attacked Beirut with new planes in its war with the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

Asked by reporters in Washington on Thursday how confident he was that such a war could be avoided, Biden said, “How confident are you that it won't happen? Look, I don't believe there will be an endless war. .I think we can avoid it.

“But there's still a lot to do, there's still a lot to do.”

While the United States, the European Union, and other allies have called for a 21-day ceasefire in the Israel-Lebanon conflict, Biden said the US is discussing with Israel its options for responding to Tehran's attack, which includes Israel striking oil. from Iran. resources.

“We are discussing that,” Biden told reporters.

His comments contributed to a rise in global oil prices, and rising tensions in the Middle East have traders worried about potential disruptions.

However, Biden added: “Nothing is going to happen today.” Asked later if he was persuading Israel not to attack an oil field in Iran, Biden said he would not discuss it publicly.

On Wednesday, the president said he would not support any Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.

On Thursday, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, told CNN that his country has “many ways” to retaliate and will show Tehran its strength “soon”.

The US official said that Washington does not believe that Israel has decided how to respond to Iran.

The southern Beirut neighborhood of Dahiye, a stronghold of Iran-backed Hezbollah, came under renewed attack at midnight on Thursday after Israel ordered people to leave their homes in other areas, residents and security sources said.

The airstrikes targeted Hezbollah chief Hashem Safieddine, rumored to be replacing their slain leader Hassan Nasrallah, in the underground, Axios reporter Barak Ravid told X, citing three Israeli officials.

He said it was not yet clear what Safieddine was up to.

The Israeli military declined to comment.

Israel said Hezbollah launched about 230 rockets from Lebanon towards Israel on Thursday.

Hezbollah said it targeted what it called the “Sakhnin base” of Israel's military industrial complex in Haifa Bay on Israel's northern Mediterranean coast with a barrage of rockets.

Late Thursday, Hezbollah said it was also targeting Israel's “Nesher base” in Haifa with Fadi 2 rockets.

G7 REQUESTS ABSENCE

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed that Iran would pay for Tuesday's missile attack, and Washington said it would work with its longtime ally to ensure Iran faces “serious consequences.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking in Doha, said on Thursday that Tehran would be ready to respond.

“Any kind of military attack, acts of terrorism or crossing our red lines will be met with a decisive response by our armed forces,” he said.

Israel, which has been fighting Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza for nearly a year, sent troops into southern Lebanon on Tuesday after two weeks of heavy airstrikes in a tense standoff that has drawn Iran and a threat involving the United States.

The Group of Seven Nations, which includes the US, Britain and allies, on Thursday condemned Iran's missile attack on Tuesday and reaffirmed its commitment to Israel's security.

But the group also called for restraint, a ceasefire in Gaza and a ceasefire in Lebanon.

“The dangerous cycle of attacks and retaliation risks an uncontrolled escalation in the Middle East, which is in no one's interest,” the statement said.

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, also called for strong efforts to stop the violence in order to stop what he called Israel's aggression.

The chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives urged the US president on Thursday to speed up the shipment of weapons to Israel, including 2000 bombs (907 kg) that have been stored for months due to human rights concerns.

A single 2,000-pound bomb can tear through thick concrete and steel, creating a wide blast zone.

Representative Michael McCaul said in a letter sent to Biden and seen by Reuters that such large bombs were necessary because Hamas and Hezbollah were using tunnels and tunnels buried deep underground.

HEZBOLLAH SAYS KILLED 17 ISRAELI SOLDIERS

Israel says its operation in Lebanon seeks to allow tens of thousands of its citizens to return to their homes after Hezbollah bombings during the Gaza war forced them out of the north.

More than 1.2 million Lebanese have been displaced by the Israeli offensive, and nearly 2,000 people have been killed since Israel's offensive began in Lebanon last year, most of them in the past two weeks, Lebanese authorities said.

At the beginning of Friay, the Ministry of Health in Lebanon said that 27 people died and 151 were injured in the previous day.

Hezbollah says it has foiled several ground operations by the Israeli army, with measures such as ambushes and direct clashes.

The group said it killed 17 Israeli soldiers in a battle in southern Lebanon on Thursday, citing a military source and security sources. The Israeli military did not comment on the claim.

An Israeli strike killed at least 18 people on Thursday in the Tulkarm refugee camp in the West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said, and Israel said it killed a Hamas official in Tulkarm.