DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. (AP) — President Joe Biden said Sunday he would speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and believes that an all-out war in the Middle East must be avoided.

“It has to be,” Biden told reporters as he boarded Air Force One for Washington. “We really have to avoid it.”

The president’s statements come as Israeli airstrikes across Lebanon killed dozens of people on Sunday. He would not say when he planned to speak with Netanyahu.

The Iran-backed Hezbollah sustained a string of deadly blows to its command structure, including the killing of its overall leader, Hassan Nasrallah, as part of a wave of increasingly brazen Israeli strikes meant to undercut the group’s capacity to attack its territory.

Tens of thousands of Israelis and Lebanese have been forced to evacuate near the Israel-Lebanon border as Hezbollah has launched near-daily rocket volleys at Israel over the past 11 months and Israel has countered with its own strikes.

With tens of thousands of civilians displaced on both sides, the Biden administration has tried to bring about a negotiated resolution that would allow them to return home and prevent a wider regional conflict.

Earlier Sunday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Israel has “wiped out” Hezbollah’s command structure with a barrage of airstrikes that has taken out Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and several of the group’s leaders..

But Kirby warned Hezbollah will work to rebuild quickly.

“I think people are safer without him walking around,” said Kirby, referring to Friday’s strike killing Nasrallah. “But they will try to recover. We’re watching to see what they do to try to fill this leadership vacuum. It’s going to be tough.”

Kirby sidestepped questions about whether the administration agreed with how the Israelis are going about targeting Hezbollah leaders, who the Israelis say have built command structures and other facilities adjacent to or underneath civilian sites. The strikes, according to Lebanese officials, have also killed many innocent civilians.

The White House continues to call on Israel and Hezbollah to agree to a 21-day temporary cease-fire that was floated by the U.S., France and other countries last week as world leaders gathered for the U.N. General Assembly.

“If you want to get those folks back home safely and sustainably, we believe that a diplomatic path is the right course,” Kirby said.

He made the comments during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Groves covers Congress for The Associated Press. Aamer Madhani is a White House reporter.

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