The Taoiseach has thanked US President Joe Biden for his help convincing the Israeli army to move away from a Lebanon outpost manned by Irish peacekeeping troops.

Speaking in Washington last night, Simon Harris confirmed that President Biden had spoken to Israel about the “intimidatory behaviour” of the Israeli army near the outpost.

He said he raised the issue with the US President in a phone call on Monday night and said the Israeli forces decision to move on came off the back of work by both the US and the UN.

“I thanked President Biden for his assistance the other evening,” said Mr Harris.

“On Monday evening, when we spoke by phone, I was very concerned, as was the Government, in relation to the safety of our peacekeepers at an outpost which the IDF had come extraordinarily close to – the intimidatory behaviour and the impact that was having on the safety and security of our peacekeepers.

“I acknowledge the work of President Biden and the United Nations in conveying that message in the strongest terms to Israel and I appreciate that.”

Taoiseach Simon Harris and US President Joe Biden.

The Taoiseach described his one-hour meeting with President Biden in the Oval Office yesterday as “very good”, adding that the pair spoke about a range of matters, including Putin’s “thuggery”, the situation in Northern Ireland and the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

He said he made clear Ireland’s position that every country in the world must do all it can to bring about an end to the violence.

He said President Biden informed him that he had a “very lengthy conversation” with Israeli Prime Minister Bejamin Netanyahu yesterday in which they spoke about the steps Israel needs to take in terms of humanitarian aid and bringing about a ceasefire.

“Obviously, when it came to Gaza, I made clear the position of the Irish people, the position of the Irish government, that we know what it is like in Ireland to not feel seen by the world,” he said.

“We know what it is like to have our national identity hijacked by a terrorist organization – because of course, Palestine is not Hamas.

“Hamas is a despicable terrorist organization and the terrorist attack they carried out in Israel on October 7^th last year should be condemned forevermore by all right-thinking people.

“But proportionality has been completely and utterly lost by the Netanyahu government and the number of civilians - particularly as I've been speaking about consistently, the number of children - needlessly dying as a result of the approach taken by Netanyahu is unacceptable.

“The world, all of us, need to dig deeper and need to do everything within our power to stop the bombings, to stop the killings and use all levers at the disposal of every country to make that happen.”

Mr Harris said President Biden “left me in no doubt” that the US was redoubling its efforts to try and bring about a ceasefire and that his administration see a two-state solution as “the only way forward in terms of bringing peace and stability to the region”.

“Of course, while everybody accepts that Israel has the right to defend itself, I'm very clear that what's happening now is certainly not in that space,” he said.

“I made it clear to the president the Irish view - it is a view I make clear in public and private - that all countries should be doing everything within their capacity to stop the violence,” he said.

“I've left the Oval Office clear in the view that President Biden had a very important conversation with the prime minister of Israel today and I really hope that that yields significant results because the current situation - the killings, the bombings, the maimings - cannot continue.

“It is utterly disproportionate and I made the point to the president that Ireland of all countries knows that the only way you bring about peace is through dialog and a political process.”

Taoiseach Simon Harris and US President Joe Biden.

The Taoiseach was originally due to attend a reception in the White House Rose Garden after the event; however, it was postponed due to the “grave threat” posed by Hurricane Milton.

Mr Harris is due to continue his visit to Washington today.

Reporting from Barry Whyte at the White House.