In a rare Oval office address to the nation, US President Joe Biden has drawn a link between Palestinian militant organization Hamas and the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Biden said that while Hamas and Putin pose different threats, they both want to annihilate their neighbouring democracies.

“Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: they both want to completely annihilate a neighboring democracy,” the US president said.

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Referring to the brutal October 7 attack on Israel, Biden said that what Hamas unleashed was “pure unadulterated evil on the world” and stressed that safety of Americans held hostage by the Palestinian militant group is of the highest priority for him.

During his address to the nation, Biden also urged the Congress to clear an aid package for both Israel and Ukraine to support them in their wars against Hamas and Russia, respectively. While Biden didn’t disclose how much extra funding he has sought, but according to foreign media reports, he is asking for some $100bn.

Amid internal objections to the extra funding, Biden said that I understood many Americans felt far away from the both the conflicts – Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas wars. However, Biden argued, ensuring the victory of Israel and Ukraine in their respective wars is “vital for America’s national security.”

Biden Wednesday paid an extraordinary wartime visit to Hamas-torn Israel to show America’s unwavering support to Jewish state. The visit also paved the way for humanitarian aid to reach Gaza as the war has triggered an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in the blockaded region.

More than a million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip have been displaced due to the war between Hamas and Israel. They have been facing severe food, water, fuel and electricity shortage after Israel announced a complete siege of the territory in response to the deadly Hamas attack.

Following Biden’s visit, Israel and Egypt reached an agreement to allow humanitarian aid into Gaza through the Rafah crossing point on the Egypt and Gaza border.