President Joe Biden will address the United States at 8 p.m. ET Thursday in a rare address from the Oval Office speaking on wars in Israel and Ukraine.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the address will focus on the United States’ response to those two conflicts.
President Biden has only delivered one prior Oval Office address, which came in June when the U.S. narrowly avoided hitting the debt ceiling.
President Biden’s address will come one day after a brief visit to the Middle East when he met with Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu. At that meeting, President Biden vowed to aid Israel in its battle with Hamas.
“We have stood by your side ever since, and we’re going to stand by your side now,” President Biden said. “My administration has been in close touch with your leadership from the first moments of this attack, and we are going to make sure we have — you have what you need to protect your people, to defend your nation.”
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The U.S. has two carrier strike groups, the USS Gerald Ford and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, en route. There are also 2,000 U.S. troops stationed in Europe on standby to assist in non-combat roles.
The aid comes after 1,400 people in Israel were killed by Hamas militants, including 30 Americans. As Israel has fired retaliatory missiles, Hamas leaders said 2,800 Palestinians have died, and over 10,000 have been wounded by Israeli air missiles.
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Israel and Hamas have also pointed fingers at each other over a deadly hospital bombing in Gaza City on Tuesday. The Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry said hundreds died in the blast. While Hamas said it was an Israeli air missile, Israel Defense Forces said it was a misfired rocket by the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad that landed on the hospital. President President Biden said the bombing appeared to not come from Israel.
During his visit, President Biden also vowed to assist with humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip, adding that the U.S. would provide $100 million.
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President Biden’s address will also include the situation in Ukraine, which has faced an invasion from Russia since February 2022. The president has vowed to continue funneling aid to Ukraine.
But what remains unclear is when additional aid to Israel and Ukraine can get through Congress. The House of Representatives has been without a speaker since Republican Kevin McCarthy was ousted earlier this month. Without a speaker, the House is unable to pass legislation that would provide such aid.
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