‘Some things are more important than staying in power’: In UN speech, Biden speaks of dropping out of the election and warns of Middle East war

President Joe Biden has warned world leaders of the dangers of an expanded war in the Middle East during his final appearance before the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The president, who will leave office in January, delivered what is most likely the final major foreign policy address of his half-century in public life on Tuesday. Just two months ago, he shocked the world by becoming the first American chief executive in half a century to forgo seeking re-election to a second term.

As he touted his administration’s work to bring “a greater measure of peace and stability to the Middle East”, Biden said the world “must not flinch” from facing what he described as “the horrors” of the October 7 terror attacks by Hamas against Israel. He added that “any country” would have both the right and responsibility to respond after such an attack.

But Biden also lamented the deaths and injuries of “innocent civilians” during the near year-long war Israel launched in response to the attacks.

Both Gaza residents and the families of hostages held by Hamas are “going through hell”, he said, with “thousands and thousands killed — including aid workers” and “too many families dislocated, crowding into tents, facing a dire humanitarian situation”.

“They never asked for this war that Hamas started,” he continued, adding that the peace deal put forward by the US, Egypt and Qatar has been approved by the UN Security Council.

“Now is the time for the parties to finalize its terms, bring the hostages home and secure security for Israel and Gaza, free of Hamas… [to] ease the suffering in Gaza and end this war,” he added.

But the president also warned against expansion of the war along Israel’s border with Lebanon and lamented how