The President of the USA Joe Biden is determined to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and a hostage release deal with Hamas while also seeking to de-escalate tensions on Israel’s border with Lebanon, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said today.
“He definitely didn’t give up,” Sullivan said in an interview with MSNBC Network hours before Biden’s final speech as president at the United Nations General Assembly.
As reported by APE, Beinen to meet with foreign leaders who met in New York to work on a cease-fire agreement and the release of hostages in Gaza and avoid an all-out war in the Middle East, Sullivan said.
He acknowledged the challenges of getting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Shinwar to agree, and said Hamas and Shinwar in particular “don’t want to make a deal.”
“But we are determined to continue,” Sullivan said.
The United States has been working to reduce tensions in the region since Hamas’s attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on October 7 prompted Israeli retaliation in the coastal enclave.
The conflict with Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border has been escalating since Oct. 7 and is at its peak now, he said.
“But we have avoided that in previous summits and I believe we can still find a way to de-escalate between Israel and across the northern border between Israel and Lebanon and lead to a diplomatic resolution that will allow people to return to their homes,” Sullivan said.
New attack in Beirut targeting Hezbollah commander: his fate unknown
At the same time, the explosive climate in the Middle East region is on the rise, with Israeli warplanes launch new precision strike on Beirutannounced the Israeli military.
Two Lebanese security sources stressed that this new Israeli attack in the southern suburbs of the Lebanese capital targeted a high-ranking Hezbollah commanderx His fate remains unknown, they said.
Yesterday, one of the airstrikes launched by Israel targeted Hezbollah’s military commander in southern Lebanon, Ali Karaki.
With its announcement last night, the Shiite organization emphasized that Karaki “is fine” and in a “safe place.”
Israeli bombings in Lebanon in recent months have already killed the “number two”, Ibrahim Akil, and the head of the military administration, Fouad Soukr.