President Biden called on Congress to send additional aid to Israel and Ukraine in a rare prime-time address from the Oval Office on Thursday evening, in which he denounced Hamas terrorists but also drew a clear distinction regarding the need to assist “innocent Palestinians.”
“Hamas and [Russian president Vladimir] Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: They both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy,” Biden said.
Biden announced his intention to send Congress an “urgent budget request to fund America’s national-security needs.”
“To support our critical partners, including Israel and Ukraine, is a smart investment that’s going to pay dividends to American security for generations, help us keep American troops out of harm’s way, help us build a world that is safer, more peaceful, more prosperous for our children and grandchildren,” he said.
A source reportedly told CBS News that Biden’s request includes “$60 billion for Ukraine and replenishing U.S. stockpiles, $14 billion for Israel, $10 billion for humanitarian efforts, $14 billion for the border and $7 billion for the Indo-Pacific region.”
He said the U.S. needs to make sure that Israel has what it needs to protect its people.
He called his request to Congress an “unprecedented commitment to Israel’s security that will sharpen Israel’s qualitative military edge.”
“We’re going to make sure Iron Dome continues to guard the skies over Israel, we’re going to make sure other hostile actors in the region know that Israel is stronger than ever and prevent this conflict from spreading,” he added.
As for Ukraine, Biden said he would ask Congress to “make sure we can continue to send Ukraine the weapons they need to defend themselves and their country without interruption.”
He made clear that he is not seeking to have American troops fighting in Russia or against Russia.
“If we walk away and let Putin erase Ukraine’s independence, would-be aggressors around the world would be emboldened to try the same,” increasing the risk of conflict and chaos in other parts of the world, including in the Indo-Pacific and the Middle East, he said.
Some Republicans have been skeptical of Biden’s proposed package, pushing back against the idea of tying Israel’s aid to assistance for Ukraine.
“There is an immediate responsibility on Congress to make sure Israel has what it needs to defend itself, and to hold that aid hostage by linking it with a myriad of other issues — including bailout for sanctuary cities and more money for Ukraine — is irresponsible,” Senator Marsha Blackburn (R., Tenn.) said on Thursday.
“These separate funding requests should be considered as such,” she added.
The prospect of continuing to send aid to Ukraine, which has already received $133 billion in military and economic assistance from the U.S., has been a source of tension in the Republican Party over the last several months. Some have advocated focusing on domestic issues, while others insist it is integral to U.S. interests to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia.
One day earlier, Biden announced that he would provide $100 million in humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians. He did not say how his administration would prevent the funds and supplies from falling into the hands of Hamas terrorists, who massacred 1,400 Israeli civilians in a surprise attack earlier this month.
The White House later said the aid would be distributed through the U.N. and unspecified nongovernmental organizations. But Hamas has a long history of seizing humanitarian aid provided to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. Just two days before Biden’s announcement, the group announced in a since-deleted social-media post that unidentified gunmen had stolen humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip.
Biden said Thursday that he and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the “critical need” for Israel to comply with the laws of war by protecting civilians in combat as well as it can.
“The U.S. remains committed to the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and to self-determination. The actions of Hamas terrorists don’t take that right away,” Biden said. “We can’t ignore the humanity of innocent Palestinians who only want to live in peace.”
Biden said he is “heartbroken” by the loss of Palestinian lives, including in an explosion at a hospital in Gaza — which he was clear to say was not caused by Israel, despite the Gaza Health Ministry, a governmental organization controlled by Hamas, having initially claimed that an Israeli air strike hit the hospital, killing nearly 500 people and injuring hundreds more. American intelligence agencies believe that between 100 and 300 people were killed, U.S. officials said Thursday.
He cautioned the Israeli government “not to be blinded by rage” after the brutal Hamas terrorists attacks earlier this month. Israel declared war against Hamas immediately after the terrorist group launched a surprise attack against the Jewish state on October 7.
The Israeli military has since retaliated by dropping more than 6,000 bombs on Gaza. However, Israel has not yet launched a ground offensive in the territory, though it has called up a record number of reservists, and active-duty troops have begun massing on the Gaza border.
“As hard as it is, we cannot give up on peace. We cannot give up on a two-state solution,” Biden said.
The president concluded the speech by saying too much hate has been given “too much oxygen” in the U.S. in recent years, including both antisemitism and Islamophobia.