US President Joe Biden confirmed US support for Israel on Wednesday after a meeting with the leaders of the G7 states, when he wrote on social media platform X, "I reaffirmed the United States' ironclad commitment to Israel's security."

Biden's voicing of support comes at a time when the Middle East is in a state of upheaval that began when militant Islamist group Hamas, considered a terrorist group by the US, the EU, and others, attacked Israel on October 7, 2023. Hamas killed roughly 1,200 people and took almost 250 hostages, some of whom are still held in Gaza.

In retaliation, Israel launched a large-scale military operation in the Palestinian territory whose stated purpose was to wipe out Hamas and free the hostages taken by the terrorist organization. Since the beginning of that operation, more than 40,000 people in Gaza, many of them civilians, have been killed.

There has also been increased fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based Hamas ally that has been firing missiles at Israel from just across the country's northern border with Lebanon. On Monday, Israel launched a ground offensive against Lebanon, after having killed Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah over the weekend.

US officials have been stressing they want to avoid a full-on war in the region and reach a cease-fire deal in Gaza in exchange for Hamas releasing Israeli hostages. But on Tuesday, Iran launched a barrage of missiles on Israel, with Israel saying it would retaliate.

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© Deutsche Welle