Updates with more comments from President Joe Biden.
President Joe Biden today urged Israel to show restraint as it deals with the aftermath of Hamas militants' attack that started on 7 October.
The Biden administration is exerting diplomatic efforts to avoid a broader conflict in the Middle East, the world's largest oil producing region.
Biden in a speech in Jerusalem today pledged to help defend Israel against any external attack, including by providing billions of dollars in additional military aid. But Biden ruled out deploying US troops if Israel comes under attack from the Lebanon-based, Iran-backed Hezbollah group.
Biden also warned Israel's leaders not to repeat what he said were Washington's mistakes following the 11 September 2001 attack on the US.
"We're going to make sure you have what you need to protect your people, to defend your nation," Biden said, expressing sympathy for "more than 1,000 Innocent Israelis killed," including at least 31 US citizens.
"But I caution this: while you feel that rage, don't be consumed by it," Biden said. The US was likewise enraged by the 2001 attacks on its soil, but, "while we saw justice and got justice, we also made mistakes."
Israel has to have clarity about its objectives after the military operations end and "an honest assessment about whether the path you're on will achieve those objectives," Biden said.
Biden in his speech said his discussions with Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his cabinet resulted in an agreement to allow delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza, through Egypt. "The vast majority of Palestinians are not Hamas," Biden said. "Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people."
Biden told reporters on the return leg of his visit that he was "very blunt about the need to support getting humanitarian aid to Gaza."
Managing the fallout
Biden landed in Israel hours after a deadly explosion at a hospital in Gaza that resulted in hundreds of dead and injured.
Most countries in the Middle East, including Bahrain and the UAE that maintain diplomatic relations with Israel, have blamed Israel for the attack.
Israel's Defense Forces attributed the attack to a misfired rocket launched from Gaza by the Islamic Jihad group, which is known for its ties to Iran. Biden in his speech in Jerusalem today backed Israel's account, saying that the US Defense Department data confirmed it.
Biden later clarified that US defense and intelligence analysts assess that it is highly unlikely that Israel is responsible for the attack. "I'm not suggesting that Hamas deliberately did it, either," Biden said. "It's not the first time Hamas has launched something that did not function."
November Nymex WTI rose by $1.66/bl to $88.32/bl in today's session on fears over supply disruption in the Middle East.
The White House is working to ensure that Israel's response to the Hamas attack does not roll back the process of normalizing its relations with Mideast Gulf Arab heavyweights and to prevent direct confrontation between the US and Iran. Biden said he urged Netanyahu to consider alternatives to ground operations in Gaza.
Members of US Congress have begun circulating legislation to force Biden to impose additional sanctions against Iran. Biden has also come under pressure from Congress to permanently block Iran's access to $6bn of its frozen funds recently transferred to an account in the Qatari central bank.
Biden's nominee for US ambassador to Israel, Jacob Lew, received a frosty reception from Republicans at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's confirmation hearing today, who accused him of being insufficiently tough toward Iran.
Lew served as treasury secretary in former president Barack Obama's administration and played a key role in overseeing the Treasury Department's rolling back of sanctions against Iran in 2016, following the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal.
