Biden says he will talk to Netanyahu as Israel pummels Sunni terror targets in Beirut

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President Biden said on Sunday that he intended to talk to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu imminently, shortly before the Israel-Hamas war intensified in Lebanon.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched an airstrike on the Lebanese capital of Beirut on Sunday evening, marking the first time the Israeli military implemented an airstrike on the central part of the city amid the yearlong Israel-Hamas war.

Speaking from Dover Air Force Base earlier that afternoon, Biden confirmed to reporters that he planned to speak with Netanyahu. The conversation took place hours before the airstrike began.

“Yes, I will be talking to him,” the Democrat said. “And I’ll tell you what I say to him when I talk to him.”

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When asked about avoiding an “all-out war” in the Middle East, Biden said the U.S. has “to avoid it.”

“We really have to avoid it,” Biden said. “We have already taken precautions relative to our embassies and personnel who want to leave.”

“And, but, we’re not there yet, but we’re working like hell with the French and many others to avoid [more] war.”

The Associated Press first reported the airstrike on Sunday evening, citing witnesses in central Beirut. The airstrike came the same weekend that the IDF systematically targeted Hezbollah, a Lebanese terrorist group that supports Hamas.

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The IDF had only targeted south Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold, before Sunday’s strikes. Dozens of people in Lebanon were killed by the IDF over the weekend, including Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.