Biden says US committed to defend Israel against ‘all threats from Iran’

US President Joe Biden told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that Washington is committed to defending Israel’s security “against all threats from Iran,” the White House said, after the assassination of a top Hamas leader in Tehran.

Biden, who was joined on the call by Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, also emphasized the “ongoing efforts to de-escalate broader tensions in the region,” the White House said in a statement.

The call between the leaders also came after Israel announced it had “eliminated Hezbollah military commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut.

Biden “reaffirmed his commitment to Israel’s security against all threats from Iran, including its proxy terrorist groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Huthis,” the White House said in a readout of the president’s call with Netanyahu.

“The president discussed efforts to support Israel’s defense against threats, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive US military deployments,” it said.

Hamas, Hezbollah and Yemen’s Huthi rebels all receive backing from Iran.

Israel has been battling Hamas in the Gaza Strip since the group’s October 7 attack that resulted in the deaths of 1,197 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Israel’s retaliatory campaign against Hamas has killed at least 39,480 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

Israel has said the assassination of Shukr was a response to deadly rocket fire from the Lebanese group last week on the annexed Golan Heights.

Hezbollah has exchanged near-daily fire with Israel in south Lebanon since the Gaza war began.