Biden likens Hamas to Russia, calls for US aid to Israeli military
The US president has paralleled Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Hamas’s attack on Israel, urging Americans not to walk away from their role as “a beacon to the world”.
In only the second Oval Office address of his presidency, Biden said he would ask Congress to provide military aid for both Ukraine and Israel, as Israeli leaders prepare for an invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Biden drew a direct comparison between conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East in an attempt to rally war-weary voters and hardline Republicans, during his 15-minute speech.
“Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: they both want to completely annihilate a neighbouring democracy,” he said.
Some will be uneasy about the conflation, especially as Israel, with vastly superior military power, pummels schools, hospitals and residential areas across Gaza.
The two crises are a daunting diplomatic test for the US president who, at 80, is older than the state of Israel itself.