Biden tries to rally Americans on Israel, Ukraine support

US President Joe Biden has delivered a rare Oval Office speech urging Americans to back military aid for Israel and Ukraine at what he called a perilous moment for democracy around the globe as Israel readied troops for a ground invasion of besieged Gaza.

Fresh from a trip to Israel after the October 7 surprise Hamas operation on Israeli settlements, the Democratic president's primetime address on Thursday to the nation pitched the case for a global US role to war-weary voters and isolationist Republicans.

Biden sought to link Hamas resistance group in Gaza to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine.

"Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: They both want to annihilate a neighboring democracy," he said.

Biden's message carried some urgency. Israel is poised to launch a ground invasion of Gaza and tensions are at a fever pitch after a deadly Israeli strike on a Gaza hospital where some 500 Palestinians were killed and hundreds wounded.

The 80-year-old Biden, who is seeking a second term in 2024, said he will request emergency spending from Congress that US officials say totals $100 billion that includes funding for Israel and for Ukraine's battle against Russia's offensive.

"It's a smart investment that's going to pay dividends for American security for generations," Biden said.

It may include $60 billion for Ukraine and $10 billion for Israel, sources told the Reuters news agency beforehand, as well as billions for Asia and US border security.

Biden voiced concern that some Americans are asking, "Why does it matter to America" that the United States support the wars? "I know these conflicts can seem far away," he said.

But he said America's adversaries are watching how both conflicts play out and could stir up trouble elsewhere in the world depending on the outcome.

Backer of invasion

By lumping the priorities together in one package, Biden is testing whether Republican lawmakers can be persuaded to set aside their opposition and go along with spending on Ukraine, whose 20-month-old war with Russia has absorbed billions of dollars already in US weapons with no end in sight.

Any funding measure must pass both the Democratic-led Senate, where additional aid has bipartisan support, and the Republican-led House, which has not had a speaker for 17 days.

Biden spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hours before the speech in a move apparently designed to turn up the pressure on Republicans.

Diplomatically, Biden now faces a more severe test as his personal show of support for Israel means he will be seen in much of the Arab world as backing an expected Israeli ground invasion of Gaza.

Left-wingers in his own Democratic Party have also opposed his support for Israel.

There is also the risk of a wider conflict. The United States has already moved two aircraft carriers into the Eastern Mediterranean to deter Iran or Lebanon's Hezbollah, both allies of Hamas resistance group, from getting involved.

The Pentagon said that a US Navy ship on Thursday shot down missiles and drones that had been fired by Houthi rebels in Yemen, possibly at Israel.