President Joe Biden will address the United Nations General Assembly for the final time as the conflict in the Middle East grows.
President Biden's address comes as Israel has launched an attack on Lebanon targeting Hezbollah militants. Lebanese officials said Israel's air attacks have killed 558 people, including some civilians, according to The the Associated Press. The attack on Lebanon on Monday was considered the deadliest day in Lebanon since 2006.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Hezbollah has been using civilians as human shields as it seeks to diminish threats from the group.
The conflict has drawn considerable interest from the Biden administration. In response to the escalation, the U.S. is preparing to send 40,000 troops to the region.
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The conflict in Lebanon also comes as the U.S. and others have urged Israel to enter into a cease-fire with Hamas nearly a full year after Hamas attacked Israel, killing hundreds. Israel's response to the attack forced residents to flee from their homes, causing a significant humanitarian crisis.
"I'll tell you, since the very beginning of this conflict, we have taken a hard look at our posture in the region, our military posture in the region. We want to make sure that it's properly balanced and capable for a range of contingencies," White House national security communications adviser John Kirby told Morning Rush.
With Israel now involved in conflicts with both Hamas and Hezbollah, the U.S. is urging Israel to use diplomacy to de-escalate the conflict.
"They have a right to defend themselves. They live in a tough neighborhood," Kirby said. "Obviously, they got Hamas there to the west, but Hezbollah to the north, all supported by Iran. But what we have said to our Israeli counterparts and are continuing to say even today, we want to find a way to de-escalate these tensions. We don't believe in the United States that an all-out war up there in the north against Hezbollah is really in the best interest of the Israeli people."
"It's certainly not in the interest of really anybody in the region, but certainly not for the Israeli people. If the goal, we believe, is to get those families back to their homes in the north of Israel, back to their lives and their livelihoods and their businesses, then we think a diplomatic solution is probably the best way to do that," Kirby said.
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During his address on Tuesday, Kirby said that President Biden will emphasize the United States' role in building alliances throughout the world, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the Indo-Pacific Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.
"When all is said and done, he really did restore American leadership on the world stage, but he did it in a collaborative, cooperative way," Kirby said. "He did it by tapping into America's trust and our credibility on the world stage and the fact that people want to work with us to solve some of the most intractable problems around the globe."
