Biden to address US on Israel-Hamas war, Ukraine
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President Joe Biden speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One while refueling at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, after visiting Israel.
PHOTO: NYTIMES
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WASHINGTON - US President Joe Biden will give a primetime speech on Thursday about the conflict between Israel and Hamas and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the White House said on Wednesday.
Mr Biden will speak at 8pm (8am on Friday, Singapore time) in the Oval Office, from which presidents have traditionally addressed the nation at times of critical national importance.
“Tomorrow, President Biden will address the nation to discuss our response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel and Russia’s ongoing brutal war against Ukraine,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, in a statement.
The speech comes a day after Mr Biden returns from a trip to Israel to show solidarity
The Biden administration is considering US$60 billion in assistance for Ukraine and US$10 billion for Israel, in a supplemental spending request Mr Biden will send to Congress as soon as Friday, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
Senator Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was not aware of the US$100 billion figure, except from news reports. He told a news conference he had heard that the administration was considering US$10 billion for Israel.
Administration officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Several sources said on Wednesday that Mr Biden has not settled on a final figure, and the breakdown has not been communicated to Congress.
Mr Biden, a Democrat, said in Tel Aviv on Wednesday that he would ask Congress for an “unprecedented support package for Israel’s defence” later this week.
The US Congress has been paralysed by the absence of a speaker in the House of Representatives for more than two weeks.
And US lawmakers rejected hard-line Republican Jim Jordan’s bid for speaker for a second time
But the package is intended to bypass congressional chaos and bring Democrats, who have sought additional aid for Kyiv for weeks, together with Republicans, who want funds to tighten controls on the southern border with Mexico.
Support for Taiwan – the self-governing democracy which China claims and has not ruled out seizing by force – is also expected to be in the Bill.
Mr Biden recently called key allies to reassure them of continued US military aid for Ukraine, even as the White House warned the flow would dry up in months if Congress blocks new funds.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Congress in September in a bid to convince Republicans to keep the aid coming and help his country ward off the Russian invasion. AFP, REUTERS
