Lots of U.S. presidents have pushed for Middle East peace. Progress has been elusive

President Biden is now the latest in a long line of U.S. presidents to place himself in the middle of a Middle East conflict.

In an unusual wartime visit, Biden arrived in Israel on Wednesday, hours after a catastrophic blast at a Gaza hospital. During his visit, the president said it was important for him to "personally come" as a signal of U.S. support for Israel. He told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that "Americans are grieving with you, they really are. And Americans are worried."

"I understand and many Americans understand," the president said. "You can't look at what has happened here to your mothers, your fathers, your grandparents, sons, daughters, children, even babies and not scream out for justice. Justice must be done. But I caution this — while you feel that rage, don't be consumed by it. After 9/11, we were enraged in the United States. While we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes."

The president was referring to Israel's response in the Gaza Strip to the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that killed more than 1,400 Israelis, with about 200 kidnapped and held hostage.

There have been ongoing airstrikes, and preparations for an expected ground assault on Gaza that is sure to kill many Palestinian civilians — inflaming tensions on the West Bank and around the region. More than 3,400 people have been killed in Israel's