Biden reiterates Israel's right to defend, stresses need to minimize civilian casualty

"The President affirmed Israel's right to protect its citizens from Hezbollah, which has fired thousands of missiles and rockets into Israel over the past year alone, while emphasizing the need to minimize harm to civilians, in particular in the densely populated areas of Beirut," the readout said.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden in a long-awaited call Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated Israel's right to defend itself against Hezbollah, meanwhile stressing the need for the Jewish state to minimize civilian casualty during its operation in Lebanon.

During the call, the first between the two leaders since August, Biden "affirmed his ironclad commitment to Israel's security" and "condemned unequivocally Iran's ballistic missile attack against Israel on October 1st," the White House said in a readout.

"The President affirmed Israel's right to protect its citizens from Hezbollah, which has fired thousands of missiles and rockets into Israel over the past year alone, while emphasizing the need to minimize harm to civilians, in particular in the densely populated areas of Beirut," the readout said.

"On Gaza, the leaders discussed the urgent need to renew diplomacy to release the hostages held by Hamas," the readout said, adding that Biden "also discussed the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the imperative to restore access to the north, including by reinvigorating the corridor from Jordan immediately."

The readout mentioned no details whatsoever regarding what White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at Wednesday's daily press briefing -- the "continued discussion on the leaders' level" about Israel's retaliation against Iran.

Jean-Pierre also refused to say definitively whether Israel has made a decision on how they will respond to Iran's attack, which has been the main focus for those closely following the situation these days. "I'm not going to go into specifics or details," she said.

On Israel's response, the country's defense minister, Yoav Gallant, said in a video statement issued by his office: "Whoever attacks us will be hurt and will pay a price. Our attack will be deadly, precise and above all surprising, they will not understand what happened and how it happened, they will see the results."

Amid concerns about Israel expanding what it said was a limited incursion into Lebanon that aims to destroy Hezbollah's infrastructure, Jean-Pierre made it clear to reporters that the United States does not want to see what happened in Gaza -- in terms of the dire humanitarian situation as a result of Israel's military operation -- happen in Lebanon again.

However, in a statement directed at the Lebanese people on Tuesday, Netanyahu urged them to "take back your country" from Hezbollah "before it falls into the abyss of a long war that will lead to destruction and suffering like we see in Gaza." ■