White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday said the Oval Office address will be delivered at 8 p.m. ET.
Biden's televised appearance comes amid the brutal conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that began Oct. 7 when militants killed hundreds of Israelis in a cross-border raid, and at a time when Ukraine -- at war against an invading Russia -- is in need of more aid to continue its yearslong struggle.
Biden reportedly is preparing to ask Congress for billions of dollars to fund U.S. efforts to support Israel, Ukraine and even Indo-Pacific countries, as well as bolstering security along the southern U.S. border.
Biden is completing a quick trip to Israel on Wednesday, during which he expressed steadfast U.S. support for Israel, as well as the need for delivering humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Hamas-controlled Gaza.
During that trip, the president voiced his support for Egypt's decision to allow a limited convoy of supplies to enter the territory despite blockades.
In addition to supporting Israel, the United States has sent tens of billions of dollars in weapons and aid to Ukraine, too.
The White House has said that additional support could be slowed without action from Congress. And that's going to be difficult in the short term because of how a long series of aid packages to Ukraine is a sticking point for many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle in Washington.
Aid for Ukraine even has served as a factor in the U.S. House of Representatives' chaotic search for its next speaker, as many Republican lawmakers object to sending more assistance to Ukraine without stricter oversight while others in the party are more hawkish.
While an emergency aid package for Israel has attracted broad bipartisan support in recent days, some lawmakers also have said that it is fiscally irresponsible to financially assist both Israel and Ukraine simultaneously.
Biden, though, has scoffed at that notion.
"We're the United States of America, for God's sake," Biden said during a 60 Minutes interview that aired Sunday. "The most powerful nation in the history -- not in the world, in the history of the world. We can take care of both of these and still maintain our overall international defense."
Biden last used a prime-time address to discuss the U.S debt ceiling.
Xi says China to work with Egypt to help stabilise Middle East
Beijing (AFP) Oct 19, 2023 -
Chinese President Xi Jinping told Egypt's prime minister on Thursday that their countries should work together to bring "more stability" to the Middle East, as the Israel-Hamas war casts a shadow over the region.
The conflict has raged since Palestinian militant group Hamas launched shock raids into Israel on October 7, killing 1,400 people -- most of them civilians -- and taking around 200 hostages.
In response, Israel has laid siege to Gaza, carrying out waves of air strikes in the Palestinian enclave, enforcing a blockade and massing troops on its border ahead of an expected ground assault.
Top UN humanitarian official Martin Griffiths on Wednesday said the situation in Gaza was dire, with hospitals overwhelmed, more than 3,000 Gazans killed and 12,500 injured.
China has repeatedly backed a vague two-state proposal on the decades-long deadlock that preceded the war, but it has historically been sympathetic to the Palestinian cause -- albeit in favour of the nationalist Palestine Liberation Organisation rather than Islamist Hamas.
Xi met Egypt's Mostafa Madbouli in Beijing on Thursday, repeating China's support for a "two-state solution... to realise the peaceful coexistence of Palestine and Israel", according to multiple state media outlets.
"China is willing to enhance cooperation with Egypt... and inject more certainty and stability into the region and the world," Xi was reported as saying.
Beijing was also willing to work with Cairo to "jointly safeguard international fairness and justice as well as the common interests of developing countries", he said.
Since the outbreak of hostilities, Egypt has mostly kept closed its border with Gaza, where the humanitarian situation has become increasingly desperate.
However, Cairo said Thursday it would allow the "sustainable" passage of humanitarian aid into the enclave through the Rafah crossing.
China "appreciates the important role played by Egypt in de-escalating the situation and supports Egypt's efforts to open humanitarian corridors", Xi told Madbouli.
"It is crucial to prevent the conflict from expanding or even losing control and causing a serious humanitarian crisis," Xi said.
"The top priority is to cease fire and stop war at an early date," he added.
- Warming ties -
Relations between China and Egypt have warmed in recent months, with Cairo set to become an official member of the recently expanded BRICS group of emerging economies from next year.
"China congratulates Egypt on joining the BRICS cooperation mechanism and believes that this will inject new impetus into BRICS cooperation," Xi said in his meeting with Madbouli.
"China and Egypt are good friends who share the same goals and trust each other, and good partners who work hand-in-hand for development and common prosperity", he said.
"At present, the international and regional situation is undergoing profound and complex changes, and the world is experiencing rapid transformations not seen for a century," Xi said.
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