Israel-Hamas war upends Biden's two-pronged Mideast strategy

US President Joe Biden speaks about the conflict in Israel, after Hamas launched its biggest attack in decades, while making a statement about the crisis, at the White House in Washington, U.S. October 7, 2023. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo

US President Joe Biden has also had to fend off Republican criticism of last month’s prisoner swap with Iran.

PHOTO: REUTERS

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WASHINGTON - Until last weekend, the Biden administration was counting on the Middle East to remain relatively calm while it quietly pursued its main policy goals there:

brokering Israeli-Saudi detente

and containing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Those hopes were shattered when

Palestinian Hamas militants infiltrated from Gaza

and rampaged through Israeli towns on Saturday, killing hundreds and abducting scores more.

Israeli forces have retaliated

by pounding the coastal enclave, killing hundreds and imposing a total blockade there.

Israel-Hamas war upends Biden's two-pronged Mideast strategy

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