Biden says he’ll speak with Israeli leader, vowing all-out war in the Middle East must be avoided

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden said Sunday he would speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and believes that an all-out war in the Middle East must be avoided.

“It has to be,” Biden told reporters as he boarded Air Force One for Washington. “We really have to avoid it.”

The president’s statements come as Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon killed dozens of people on Sunday. He would not say when he planned to speak with Netanyahu.

The Hezbollah militant group sustained a string of deadly blows to its command structure, including the killing of its overall leader, Hassan Nasrallah.

The White House sees the death of Nasrallah as a huge blow to the group. At the same time, the administration has sought to tread carefully as it has tried to contain Israel ’s war with Hamas, which, like Hezbollah, is backed by Iran, from exploding into an all-out regional conflict.

Stephen Groves And Aamer Madhani, The Associated Press