Washington, DC, – President Biden called off the assassination on Saturday Hassan Nasrallahthe overall leader of the Iranian-backed group HezbollahDuring an airstrike in Beirut on Friday, Lebanon was a “benchmark of justice” for its many victims.
In a White House statement, Mr. Biden said that “Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans during a four-decade reign of terror,” including thousands of Israelis and Lebanese citizens. Nasrallah’s assassination, which according to the statement took place in the broader context of the conflict that began with the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, occurred after Hezbollah’s leader “made the fateful decision to join hands with Hamas and what he called a “northern front” against Israel.”
Hezbollah has been firing rockets and drones across Lebanon’s southern border into Israel for almost a year, amid the country’s war with Hamas.
Nasrallah was killed in one series of huge explosions targeting leaders of the militant group, which began detonating numerous pagers through Lebanon on September 18 killing at least twelve people, including members of the militant group Hezbollah and two children – and thousands are injured, according to Lebanon’s health minister.
The strikes escalated in recent days, with a senior US government official calling the situation between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon “delicate and dangerous.” More than 500 people were killed According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, rockets hit residential buildings on Monday. Israel said it targeted Hezbollah weapons hidden in the building.
Asked by reporters Saturday whether an Israeli ground invasion of Lebanon was inevitable, Biden replied: “It’s time for a ceasefire.”
Tensions in the Middle East have engulfed the final — and final — year of Biden’s presidency. His administration has said the US “fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and other Iranian-backed terrorist groups,” and he has directed the Secretary of Defense to further review the US defense posture to strengthen’. armed forces in the Middle East.
Mr. Biden said in the statement that his administration ultimately aims to de-escalate the ongoing conflicts through diplomatic means.
During the day his last speech to the United Nations General Assembly As President Biden said Thursday, “All-out war is in no one’s interest.”
