The deadly attack on Israel by the militant group Hamas and Israel's strong response have plunged US President Joseph Biden into a Middle East crisis that could escalate into a wider conflict and left him fending off criticism from the president's Republican rivals that his policies administration led to that.
The potential for violence to spread could test Biden's leadership both on the world stage and at home, as he tries to navigate between demonstrating unwavering support for Israel and fostering a broader peace in the volatile Middle East, where militants have been quick to praise Hamas' action.
Hundreds of people died in the clashes.
The Lebanese group Hezbollah hailed the attack as a response to "Israeli crimes". The Iran-backed group, which has similar goals as Hamas to the destruction of the Israeli state, fired rockets and shells at three Israeli positions on Sunday, drawing a response from the Israeli military with armed drones.
A senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader praised the operation by Hamas, which said it was prepared for a potentially long fight. Several 2024 Republican presidential candidates immediately tried to shift some of the blame to Biden. They sought to link his recent decision to release six billion dollars in blocked Iranian funds in exchange for the release of five Americans held in Tehran to a complex air, land and sea attack on Saturday.
The White House hit back at Republican criticism, stressing that the money unfrozen in the prisoner exchange last month has yet to be spent by Iran and can only be used for humanitarian purposes. Iran has historically maintained strong ties with the Palestinian Hamas and Hezbollah.
A senior Biden administration official said on condition of anonymity that it was "too early to say whether Iran was directly involved in planning or supporting" the complex attack, but pointed to Iran's deep ties to Hamas.
Biden and top aides spent Saturday consulting with European and Middle Eastern leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In a statement to reporters at the White House, Biden called the attacks "unscrupulous" and promised that his administration would provide Israel with "what it needs to defend itself."
"Let me say this as clearly as I can: This is not the time for any party hostile to Israel to use these attacks for leverage," Biden said.
The attack only adds new complications as the Biden administration and Iran are embroiled in disputes over Tehran's nuclear program. Iran says the program is not dangerous, but it is now enriching uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels. Still, the administration has not given up hope of reviving a deal struck during the Obama administration — and scrapped during Trump's time in the White House — that eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program.
Officials in the Biden administration have also worked to mediate the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the most powerful and richest Arab state. Such a deal has the potential to reshape the region and strengthen Israel's position in historic fashion.
But brokering such a deal was already seen as difficult because the kingdom has said it will not formally recognize Israel until the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict is resolved. The new conflict adds a huge new obstacle to Biden's ambitions, although an administration official said the White House did not see the Hamas attack as derailing the effort.
In a statement, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry did not condemn the Hamas attack, but noted the kingdom's "repeated warnings about the dangers... of the situation resulting from the continuation of the occupation, the deprivation of the Palestinian people of their legitimate rights and the repetition of systematic provocations against its holy places."
In an address to the nation, Netanyahu vowed revenge for the stunning attacks, promising that "the fight will be of a strength and scale the enemy has never seen before."
Hamas fighters took an unknown number of civilians and soldiers trapped in Gaza, in harrowing scenes posted on social media. The images - and the mounting death toll - come 50 years after the armies of Egypt and Syria surprised Israel by launching an attack that turned into the 19-day Yom Kippur War.
Jonathan Schanzer, an analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a Washington-based think tank, said Biden had done a "good job" of keeping Israel's critics, particularly his fellow Democrats, at bay as Netanyahu sought to achieve his military goals against Hamas during their latest of the great conflict, the 11-day war in 2021. This time it will probably be more difficult.
"There will be mistakes that often happen on the battlefield, no army is perfect. Then I think the president will come under attack from the left flank," said Schancer.
Some Republicans vying for the 2024 presidential nomination were quick to shift the blame for the Hamas attack to Biden.
Former President Donald Trump charged that the US is perceived as "weak and ineffective" on the global stage under Biden, opening the door to hostility towards Israel. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis accused Biden of "policies that were soft on Iran" and "helped fill their coffers." And South Carolina Senator Tim Scott said the attack was "a consequence of Biden's six billion dollar ransom payment," referring to the prisoner exchange deal.
Biden administration officials rejected this argument.
"Let's be clear: the deal to bring American citizens home from Iran has nothing to do with the horrific attack on Israel," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said. "Not a penny has been spent, and when it is, it can only go for humanitarian needs like food and medicine".
Biden administration officials have not yet addressed whether Iran, in anticipation of using the money — now held in Qatari banks — for food, medicine, medical supplies and agricultural products, may have diverted other funds to Hamas or other proxies.
In a briefing with Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff on Saturday, administration officials said the US had warned Iran "through an intermediary" that direct involvement in the situation in Gaza would jeopardize any future initiatives the US might consider with Tehran, a congressional aide said. familiar with the session.
Officials did not specify who the interlocutors were or what future initiatives would be at risk, although Acting Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and the top US diplomat for the Middle East, Barbara Leaf, spoke with officials in Lebanon about the situation. Some Lebanese officials maintain contact with Iran, which supports the militant group Hezbollah in that country.
Another Republican criticism of the Biden administration concerns a decision shortly after taking office to reverse a Trump-era ban on aid to Palestinians, including civilians in Gaza. Republicans argue that this decision may have helped fund the Hamas operation.
Administration officials flatly rejected that, saying their efforts to help Palestinian civilians in Gaza and elsewhere did not include money that could be used or diverted by Hamas.
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