Biden to deliver primetime address Thursday on Israel, Ukraine wars
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(The Hill) — President Biden will address the nation on Thursday about the wars in Ukraine and the conflict between Israel and Hamas in a primetime speech from the Oval Office.
The White House announced Biden will “address the nation to discuss our response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel and Russia’s ongoing brutal war against Ukraine.” The speech will take place at 8 p.m. ET.
The timing of the speech underscores the consequential nature of both conflicts to U.S. interests, and it comes on the heels of Biden’s trip to Israel to show support for the Jewish state and broker a deal to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza.
It also comes as the White House prepares to send a supplemental funding request to Congress seeking aid for both Israel and Ukraine. The total ask could reportedly amount to roughly $100 billion, also including funding for Taiwan and U.S. border security.
Biden warns Israel not to repeat mistakes of US response after 9/11
Biden traveled to Israel Wednesday nearly two weeks after Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, launched terrorist attacks that left more than 1,000 Israelis dead. Thousands more Palestinians have been killed in ensuing retaliatory airstrikes from Israel into Gaza.
The Biden administration has moved military assets closer to the conflict in support of Israel and has sent munitions and interceptors for the Iron Dome defense system. Biden on Wednesday previewed that he would ask Congress for “an unprecedented support package for Israel’s defense.”
At the same time, Congress has provided billions of dollars in military and financial assistance to Ukraine in the roughly 20 months since Russia launched an unprovoked invasion in February 2022.
While there is bipartisan support for both Israel and Ukraine in Congress, some House Republicans have voiced opposition to continued aid for Ukraine, questioning how it benefits the U.S. and suggesting they would oppose tying funding for both nations together.
Biden has pushed back against the suggestion that the U.S. can not support both allies simultaneously.
“We’re the United States of America for God’s sake, the most powerful nation in the history — not in the world, in the history of the world,” Biden said in a “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday.
“We can take care of both of these and still maintain our overall international defense.”
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