US President Joe Biden assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that Washington remains committed to defending Israel’s security “against all threats from Iran,” following the assassination of a top Hamas leader in Tehran, according to the White House.
During the call, which also included Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, Biden emphasized the “ongoing efforts to de-escalate broader tensions in the region.”
The conversation occurred after Israel announced it had “eliminated Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.” Although Netanyahu’s government has not commented on the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, the Palestinian militant 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 stated. He discussed supporting Israel’s defense against threats, including ballistic missiles and drones, through new US military deployments.
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 attack, which resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Militants also seized 251 hostages, with 111 still held captive in Gaza, including 39 the military says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed at least 39,480 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry, which does not specify civilian and militant deaths.
Israel stated that the assassination of Shukr was a response to deadly rocket fire from the Lebanese group last week on the annexed Golan Heights.
