U.S. President Joe Biden reiterated Friday that while Israel has the right to fight and defend itself against militant groups like Hezbollah, it should put "much more" effort in minimizing civilian casualties during such operations.

Making a surprise appearance -- his first since taking office -- at the White House press briefing, Biden tried to quell growing concerns that what has been happening in the past few days is edging ever closer to a full-blown regional war in the Middle East.

He argued that the U.S. strategy to deal with the current situation has received support from the United Nations Security Council as well as Washington's allies around the world.

"The Israelis have every right to respond to the vicious attacks on them, not just from the Iranians, but from everyone -- from Hezbollah to Houthis," Biden said. "But the fact is that they have to be very much more careful about dealing with civilian casualties." 

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