Is Biden administration seeking deescalation – or driving Middle East war?

As Washington calls for a regional ceasefire, it continues to provide political and military support for Israel. Is the expanding war failed diplomacy — or what the US really wants?

Washington, DC – Holding an ice cream cone, United States President Joe Biden declared in February that a ceasefire in Gaza is so “close” that it may materialise within days.

More than seven months later, not only has Israel’s war on Gaza continued but it has expanded, with Israeli troops invading and bombing Lebanon as tensions and violence boil over across the Middle East.

The Biden administration has continued to verbally call for de-escalation while also providing Israel with political support and a steady supply of bombs to sustain its wars.

Washington has welcomed nearly every escalatory step Israel has taken this year: the killing of Hamas leaders in Beirut and Tehran, the assassination of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah and the invasion of south Lebanon.

More than a year since the outbreak of war in Gaza, Israel is pushing on with its devastating offensive in the besieged Palestinian territory, which has killed nearly 42,000 people, while bombing Beirut daily and preparing for an attack against Iran.