U.S. Will Defend Israel From Retaliation Even Though Assassinations Were 'Not Helpful,' White House Says

Biden promises Netanyahu the U.S. will defend Israel from any reprisal attacks pic.twitter.com/9meq2hTBmq

— Dave DeCamp (@DecampDave) August 1, 2024

President Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday and promised the US would help defend Israel from any reprisal attacks it may face from Iran or its allies in response to recent Israeli escalations.

Iran is vowing revenge for the Israeli assassination of Hamas's political chief in Tehran, and Hezbollah is warning it will escalate in response to the Israeli strike in Beirut that killed one of its top commanders.

"The President 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 Biden-Netanyahu call.

Biden also said the US was deploying more military assets to the region. "The President discussed efforts to support Israel's defense against threats, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive US military deployments," the readout said. The White House said Vice President Kamala Harris was also on the call.

A Pentagon official told The Washington Post that the US had assembled 12 warships in the Middle East that were already in the region to prepare to defend Israel. The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and six US Navy destroyers are in the Persian Gulf, while three amphibious ships and two destroyers are in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The White House said Wednesday the Israeli strikes in Lebanon and Iran are not helpful while they seek a cease-fire deal to end the conflict in the Middle East.

"These reports over the last 24, 48 hours certainly don't help with the temperature going down," John Kirby, the White House National Security Council communications adviser, told reporters. "We're obviously concerned about escalation."

[...] Earlier Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. was not involved in the death of the Hamas leader.

Kirby noted the recent events complicate the pending deal that aims to end the war in Gaza.

"All of this adds to the complicated nature of what we're trying to get done," he said Wednesday during the White House press briefing. "What we're trying to get done is a cease-fire deal that can get you six weeks in phase one, a lot of hostages, the most at risk, out of there and with their families again. And get some more humanitarian assistance in there."

"When you have events, traumatic events, violent events caused by whatever, it certainly doesn't make the task of achieving that outcome any easier," Kirby added.