President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister spoke via phone on Thursday about a range of issues in the Middle East, the White House said.
The White House on Thursday announced new defensive military deployments to help Israel defend itself against Iran and its proxies.
A brief statement on the matter came in a readout of a phone call between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Vice President Kamala Harris also joined the call.
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Both leaders discussed efforts for Israel to defend itself against Iran and Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis in Yemen.
"The President discussed efforts to support Israel’s defense against threats, including against ballistic missiles and drones, to include new defensive U.S. military deployments," the statement said.
During the call, Biden stressed the ongoing efforts to de-escalate broader tensions in the region.
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Tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have heightened in recent weeks following back-and-forth airstrikes.
On Thursday, Natanyahu said those who attack his country will ay a "very high price" after confirming that Israel killed top Hezbollah and Hamas commanders in recent strikes.
"Israel is in a state of very high readiness for any scenario — on both defense and offense," Netanyahu said. "We will exact a very high price for any act of aggression against us from any quarter whatsoever."
