US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that “all-out war” is still possible as fighting between Israel and Hezbollah escalates.
Biden added that he’s hopeful an off-ramp can be found to prevent further bloodshed.
He made the comments during an interview on ABC’s “The View.”
“An all-out war is possible,” Biden said, adding that he thinks the opportunity also exists “to have a settlement that can fundamentally change the whole region.”
The US president suggested that getting Israel and Hezbollah to agree to a cease-fire could help achieve a cessation of hostilities between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.
“It’s possible and I’m using every bit of energy I have with my team … to get this done,” he said.
The war is approaching the one-year mark on October 7 when Hamas invaded southern Israel, and has caused tens of thousands of deaths, the majority being of Palestinians in Gaza.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday warned Israel would not stop its military operations against Hezbollah until northern residents can safely return to their homes.
“We are striking Hezbollah with blows it never imagined. We are doing this with full force, we are doing this with guile. One thing I promise you: we will not rest until they return home”, Netanyahu said in a statement.
Israeli army chief Herzi Halevi told soldiers to be prepared for possible entry into Lebanon.
“We are not stopping. We will keep attacking and harming (Hezbollah) everywhere,” Halevi said.
“To do this, we are preparing for the course of the manoeuvre, and the sense is that your military boots, your manoeuvre boots, will enter enemy territory.”
“These are the things that will allow us to safely repatriate the residents of the north later,” the army chief added.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been urging both Israel and Hezbollah to step back from their current intensifying conflict, saying that all-out war would be disastrous for the region.
“The best way to get that is not through war, not through escalation,” he said in an interview with CBS News.