WASHINGTON (CN) — President Joe Biden said Thursday evening he is sending an “urgent budget request” to Congress to continue providing military aid to Israel and Ukraine.
In a prime-time address from the White House, Biden made his case for Congress to fund his request, saying if the United States doesn’t stand up for its values, bad actors could be empowered worldwide.
“Conflict and chaos could spread in other parts of the world,” he said. “It’s just not worth it.”
Media reports indicate the White House will request more than $100 billion for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and for the U.S.-Mexico border. It’s unclear how the request will even move through Congress as House Republicans continue to struggle picking a speaker.
State Department spokesperson Matt Miller on Thursday didn’t say how difficult a vacant speakership will make securing funding for foreign policy initiatives.
“There is a time when we’re going to need to go to Congress and it would be nice to have a functioning partner at that time,” he said.
Biden said the world is at an “inflection point in history” because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the escalating violence in Israel, which has rocketed to the forefront of the White House’s priorities.
Long-running conflict between Israel and Palestine recently escalated after Hamas militants entered Israel on Oct. 7 for the first time in decades.
Since Israel started its retaliation for the attacks, the Gaza Health Ministry said 3,785 people have been killed in Gaza, the majority women, children and older adults. Nearly 12,500 were injured, and another 1,300 people were believed buried under the rubble, health authorities said.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly civilians slain during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. Roughly 200 others were abducted.
The U.S. government has overwhelmingly come out in support of Israel and its response to the attacks, even vetoing Wednesday a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Hamas’ attack and calling for a ceasefire to facilitate humanitarian aid.
“We thought it was very unfortunate that that resolution did not recognize Israel’s right to defend itself in the face of these terrorist attacks. We think that is an important principle,” Miller said Thursday. “Israel just suffered a massive terrorist attack — something that is 10 to 15 times the impact of 9/11 when you look at it on a per capita basis. … Any country would defend itself in those situations.”
There were 2,977 people killed in the 9/11 attacks, which is a smaller per capita impact on the U.S.’s population of 285 million at the time compared to the Oct. 7 attack’s percentage of Israel’s 9 million people.
Biden traveled to Israel this week and top diplomats spent more than a week in the region conveying U.S. support for Israel, trying to facilitate humanitarian aid and to keep the conflict from spreading.
The president urged Israel to move forward with caution and not to repeat the mistakes the United States made in the aftermath of 9/11.
“We cannot give up on peace,” he said. “We cannot give up on a two-state solution.”
So far, at least 32 American citizens have been killed in the violence and 11 remain missing.
Hamas has been the de facto governing body of Gaza since 2007. The faction, which views the state of Israel as illegitimate, has long held that the current government in Jerusalem must be deposed by force.
Israel, which considers Hamas a terrorist organization, has for years held a blockade against Gaza and its Palestinian population, a move detractors have called a violation of human rights. For nearly 60 years, the country has also occupied a Palestinian territory in the region’s western reaches known as the West Bank.
The U.S. on Wednesday announced it would provide $100 million in humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people. But getting aid into the region has been hampered by Israel’s objections.
Egypt agreed Thursday to allow humanitarian aid through its connection to Gaza, but Miller said Israel’s stance is that any assistance provided to Gaza will be diverted to support Hamas. Despite the U.S. desire “to see sustained humanitarian assistance going into Gaza,” Miller said it's a legitimate concern.
“We think it’s important,” he said, “that the innocent civilians in Gaza who did not start this conflict have access to food and water and medicine.”
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