Biden Faces Risks in Wartime Visit to Israel

Unlike other presidents who have urged restraint on Israel during past conflicts, Mr. Biden has emphasized that Israel has every right to defend itself. A visit, said Richard Fontaine, the head of the Center for a New American Security, “would be a further embrace and a reaffirmation that regime change in Gaza is the right choice.”

As in Ukraine, Mr. Biden has said he will support the effort with everything short of sending Americans in with Israeli forces.

Mr. Biden has dispatched American warships and aircraft to the region to deter Iran and its proxy, Hezbollah, from widening the war. The two carrier groups, one named for President Gerald R. Ford and the other for Dwight D. Eisenhower, have been positioned so they could hit Hezbollah missile sites in Lebanon or elsewhere, if a second front opens up. A senior official said Mr. Biden would have to issue specific orders for the carrier groups to use their firepower, but he has reportedly indicated he is willing to do so.

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