President Biden said Sunday that the United States is “doing everything we can” to prevent an escalation of war in the Middle East.
“We are going to do everything in our power to prevent a larger war from breaking out,” the president said in response to a question about “rising tensions” in the region, according to a White House press release.
Biden's comments came in the wake of recent gun battles between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, with Lebanese health officials saying on Saturday that Israeli airstrikes targeting Hezbollah in Beirut had killed more than 30 people.
Health Minister Firas Abyad told a news conference that 31 people were killed in the attack, including seven women and three children. At least 68 people were wounded, 15 of whom were still recovering in hospital, he said.
The attack, which took place on Friday, killed Hezbollah's head of operations and the commander of its elite special forces, the Radwan Unit, according to the Israeli military. The IDF said another senior commander of the Radwan Unit was also killed.
Friday's Israeli attack came after Hezbollah fired about 140 rockets at Israel, most of which were shot down by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, the Israeli military said.
Attacks on pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon on Tuesday and Wednesday killed 37 people and injured thousands.
