White House announces new US military deployments after call between Biden and Netanyahu

The US has made new defensive military deployments to help defend Israel following the assassinations of Hezbollah senior general Fuad Shukr and Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, the White House announces in its readout of the call that just wrapped up between US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The statement doesn’t elaborate about the new defensive measures.

The White House says that the leaders discussed efforts to defend Israel against Iran and its proxies, particularly against ballistic missile and drone attacks, following the two killings earlier this week in Lebanon and Iran, which were widely attributed to the IDF.

While he stressed his commencement to Israel’s defense, Biden stressed to Netanyahu the importance of trying to de-escalate tensions in the region, the US readout adds, noting that Vice President and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris also joined the call.