In an Oval Office speech, President Biden sought to convince Congress and ordinary Americans that Washington must maintain support for both Israel and Ukraine, saying cash spent on the two nations would “pay dividends for American security for generations.” The administration will submit an urgent budget request to Congress to assist both countries. He said that Hamas, the group that launched the cross-border raids on Oct. 7 that ignited the war in Israel, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is conducting a war against Ukraine, are similar threats: They both want to destroy a neighboring democracy. “We cannot and will not let terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin win,” he said. At the same time, he urged restraint from Israel. While Hamas is a terrorist group, it “does not represent the Palestinian people,” Biden said, adding that Israel must not be “blinded by rage.”
