2 months ago
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President Joe Biden
has begun to acknowledge in private that he is simply running out of time as tension in the Middle-East escalates, his aides said. With only four months left in the office, the chances of a ceasefire and a hostage deal with Hamas looks dimmer than at any time, New York Times reported citing Biden's aides. In public, however, the officials insist that they have not given up and they are hoping that the tension between Israel and Hezbollah will not turn into a regional war.
Last week, several were killed and hundred were injured after communication devices -- pagers and walkie-talkies -- exploded across Lebanon. The US is sending a small number of additional troops to the Middle East in response to the escalation between Israel and Hezbollah, Pentagon said Monday.
The NYT report said that members of Biden's national security team do not hide their exasperation with Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu who only contradicts his assurances. "They now wonder aloud whether the prime minister kept throwing new conditions into cease-fire negotiations in hopes of keeping his fragile coalition together, or to stay in office and out of court," the report said.
"And while they say he has every right to attack Hezbollah, which has become a “state within a state” in Lebanon, they also say it was telling that the White House announced no phone calls between the president and the prime minister as beepers exploded in the pockets of Hezbollah members and missiles flew. It seemed a sign of how little they had to say to each other," the NYT report said.
Biden Monday traveled to New York for his major last speech before the United National General Assembly today. Vice President Kamala Harris is not scheduled to attend the high-level gathering in New York but she met with the UAE leader on Monday and is slated to sit down with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday, according to the White House. Biden was also set to meet with Zelensky, but separately from Harris.
