US committed to defend Israel: Biden

AFP :

US President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that Washington is committed to defending Israel’s security “against all threats from Iran,” the White House said, after the assassination of a top Hamas leader in Tehran.

Biden, who was joined on the call by Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, also emphasized the “ongoing efforts to de-escalate broader tensions in the region,” the White House said in a statement.

The call between the leaders also came after Israel announced it had “eliminated Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.

Netanyahu’s government has not commented on the slaying of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, but the Palestinian group has blamed Israel.

Biden “reaffirmed his commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis,” the White House said in a readout of the president’s call with Netanyahu.

“The president discussed efforts to support Israel’s defence against threats, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive US military deployments,” it said.

Hamas, Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels all receive backing from Iran.

Israel has been battling Hamas in the Gaza Strip since the group’s October 7 retaliation campaign.
Israel’s response to Hamas has killed at least 39,480 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not give details of civilian and militant deaths.

Israel has said the assassination of Shukr was a response to deadly rocket fire from the Lebanese group last week on the annexed Golan Heights.

Hezbollah has exchanged near-daily fire with Israel in south Lebanon since the Gaza war began.