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President Joe Biden backed Israel's airstrike on Hezbollah's top official in a statement released Saturday and announced the U.S. will enhance its military presence in the region.
He also ordered the U.S. to enhance its military presence in the Middle East in response to the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.
The 81-year-old commander-in-chief called his death 'justice' for the hundreds of Americans he is responsible for killing over his 'four-decade reign of terror'.
Kamala Harris also released a statement supporting Israel's attack.
As Israel launched fresh airstrikes on Beirut on Saturday, Biden took steps to stop the region from breaking into an all-out war after Iran threatened revenge for Nasrallah's death.
President Joe Biden speaks the the media after stepping off Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. He announced the U.S. military would ramp up its presence in the Middle East on Saturday
Biden insisted that Israel has 'the right to defend itself' against terrorist factions backed by Tehran.
But he also stressed that a diplomatic solution and 'de-escalation' was the best way to avoid a wider conflict.
This could be because Israel is now asking for the U.S. to come to its aid following their Hezbollah decapitation strike, Axios is reporting.
Killed alongside Nasrallah was an Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general, reportedly frustrating Iran, a key supporter of Hezbollah.
Despite the White House's repeated pleas with the Jewish Nation to find a path to a ceasefire, the strike and increased U.S. regional involvement appears to be an escalation for both nations.
'Just yesterday, I directed my Secretary of Defense to further enhance the defense posture of U.S. military forces in the Middle East region to deter aggression and reduce the risk of a broader regional war,' Biden said, revealing a strategy change.
'Ultimately, our aim is to de-escalate the ongoing conflicts in both Gaza and Lebanon through diplomatic means,' Biden said in the Saturday statement.
'In Gaza, we have been pursuing a deal backed by the UN Security Council for a ceasefire and the release of hostages.'
Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted a neighborhood in Beirut's southern suburb early on September 28, 2024. The Israeli army said September 28 that it killed the commander of Hezbollah's missile unit in southern Lebanon in an air strike, along with his deputy and several other leaders of the Iran-backed movement
Smoke rises over Beirut's southern suburbs during Israeli strikes on September 28, 2024. Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group confirmed on September 28 that its leader Hassan Nasrallah had been killed, after Israel said it had "eliminated" him in a strike on south Beirut a day earlier
'In Lebanon, we have been negotiating a deal that would return people safely to their homes in Israel and southern Lebanon.'
'It is time for these deals to close, for the threats to Israel to be removed, and for the broader Middle East region to gain greater stability.'
He also celebrated the death of the Hezbollah leader, and explained why he was a target.
'Hassan Nasrallah and the terrorist group he led, Hezbollah, were responsible for killing hundreds of Americans over a four-decade reign of terror.'
'His death from an Israeli airstrike is a measure of justice for his many victims, including thousands of Americans, Israelis, and Lebanese civilians,' the president said.
Kashmiri Shiite Muslims protest against the killing of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, in Srinagar, the summer capital of Indian Kashmir, 28 September 2024
A woman reacts as she stands in the rain with other demonstrators during an anti-Israel protest in Tehran's Palestine Square on September 28, 2024, after the Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group confirmed reports of the killing of its leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli air strike in Beirut the previous day
'The strike that killed Nasrallah took place in the broader context of the conflict that began with Hamas's massacre on October 7, 2023. Nasrallah, the next day, made the fateful decision to join hands with Hamas and open what he called a 'northern front' against Israel.'
Finally, Biden gave his full-throated approval of the military strike in Beirut.
'The United States fully supports Israel’s right to defend itself against Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, and any other Iranian-supported terrorist groups.'
Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris also released a statement approving the strikes by Israel.
'I have an unwavering commitment to the security of Israel,' she said.
'I will always support Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran and Iran-backed terrorist groups such as Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.'
Israel launched fresh strikes on Beirut again Saturday afternoon after killing Hezbollah boss Nasrallah and a senior Iranian commander in an attack on Friday.
The Israeli military said late Saturday afternoon it had carried out an airstrike in the Dahieh area of Beirut - the same district targeted in the strike on Hezbollah's headquarters in the city Friday.
A Kashmiri Shiite Muslim holds a photograph of late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah
Confirming Hassan Nasrallah's death, Hezbollah pledged to keep fighting Israel - saying that the leader had 'joined his fellow martyrs'.
They said in a statement: 'The leadership of Hezbollah pledges... to continue its jihad in confronting the enemy, supporting Gaza and Palestine, and defending Lebanon and its steadfast and honorable people.'
And Iran's Supreme Leader pledged that 'all regional resistance forces' would support Hezbollah, demanding a 'strong' response to the attack.
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