Welcome to The Hill's Defense & NatSec newsletter{beacon} Defense &National Security Defense &National Security   The Big Story  Biden calls for end to Gaza war in United Nations speechPresident Biden delivered his last major speech Tuesday to the U.N., where he called for unity and strength to confront global challenges.© AP Photo/Andres Kudacki Biden pushed for peace, security and cooperation in his farewell speech to the U.N., highlighting his decades of experience as a politician and push for positive change across the world.  "There will always be forces that pull our countries apart and the world apart: aggression, extremism, chaos, and cynicism, a desire to retreat from the world and go it alone," Biden said at the summit in New York.  "Our task, our test is to make sure that the forces holding us together are stronger than those that are pulling us apart," he added, "that the principles of partnership that we came here each year to uphold can withstand the challenges, that the center holds once again."  The president also highlighted the ongoing wars in Gaza, Ukraine and Sudan, calling for the world to work together to address the conflicts.  Biden struck a determined tone in his remarks on Gaza. "Now is the time for the parties to finalize its terms, bring the hostages home, " he said, and to "ease the suffering in Gaza, and end this war." The U.S. has pushed for months to get a cease-fire and hostage release deal over the finish line, but talks have collapsed in recent weeks between Israel and Hamas. And now, Israel and Hezbollah are teetering on the brink of war as they escalate tit-for-tat strikes across the border.  Biden, speaking generally about Middle East tensions, said "full-scale war is not in anyone’s interest," and he called out Israeli settler violence in the West Bank while pushing for world leaders to put their people first.   "My fellow leaders, let us never forget, some things are more important than staying in power," he said. "It’s your people that matter the most." But his Middle East comments attracted scrutiny.  Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the liberal think tank Center for International Policy, said Biden's remarks on Gaza "repeated the months- or years-old talking points on the crises in the Middle East."  This was "reflecting a US approach that has helped lead to the suffering in Palestine and Israel and the threat of further conflict in and around Lebanon that we’re seeing today," Williams said in a statement.  Jordan's king, Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein, in his own speech before the U.N. decried the "absence of global accountability" that is threatening to "create a future where anything is primitive."  "Now is the time to ensure the protection of the Palestinian people," he said. "It is the moral duty of this international community to establish a protection mechanism for them."  On Ukraine, Biden again called to support the nation in its fight against Russia. "The world now has another choice to make: Will we sustain our support to help Ukraine win this war and preserve its freedom or walk away and let aggression be renewed and a nation be destroyed?"  Read the full report at TheHill.com.  Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I'm Brad Dress — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.  Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.   Essential Reads  How policy will affect defense and national security now and inthe future:  Navy ship in Middle East damaged in incidentA U.S. Navy refueling ship has been damaged during an incident in the Middle East, the Navy said Tuesday. A Navy official told The Hill that the USNS Big Horn, a replenishment oiler, “sustained damage while operating at sea” overnight Monday in the 5th Fleet area of responsibility that covers the Middle East. “All crew members are currently safe and U.S. 5th Fleet is assessing the situation,” the official …  Full Story  Americans in Lebanon advised to ‘book any ticket available’ on departing flights The U.S. Embassy in Beirut is encouraging Americans to leave the country as soon as possible after last week’s wave of pager attacks killed dozens and wounded thousands, raising international concerns.  Full Story   Russia military planes detected off Alaskan coast after Army deploys troops to region The U.S. military detected and tracked four Russian military planes off the coast of Alaska Monday amid a spike in such activity from Moscow off the U.S. coast. The four Russian aircraft were operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ), the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) said in a statement late Monday.  While the ADIZ is just outside U.S. sovereign airspace, the portion of international …  Full Story   On Our Radar  Upcoming things we're watching on our beat:  President Biden and Vice President Harris will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday.The United Nations General Assembly summit will conclude on Monday.  In Other News  Branch out with a different read from The Hill: GOP takes aim at Zelensky for Pennsylvania visit, Vance swipe Republicans are hammering Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky after he criticized Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) in an interview and visited a Pennsylvania ammunition factory over the weekend along with the state’s Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro.  Full Story   On Tap Tomorrow  Events in and around the defense world:  The Center for Strategic and International Studies talks on U.S. maritime capabilities during a 9 a.m. ET online event. The American Enterprise Institute chats with top lawmakers on the Chinese communist party committee on China's companies as a national security risk during a 9:45 a.m. hybrid event. The Council on Foreign Relations talks with the president of Yemen for a 10:45 a.m. in-person event. The Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission looks at the "Russian Federation’s campaign to erase Ukrainian culture and identity" during a 3 p.m. hearing. The House Oversight Committee holds a 10 a.m. hearing on the U.S. defense against Chinese political warfare.  What We're Reading  News we've flagged from other outlets: Israel deliberately blocked humanitarian aid to Gaza, two government bodies concluded. Antony Blinken rejected them (Pro Publica)  Trending Today  Two key stories on The Hill right now: Chutkan rebuffs Trump effort to upend Jan. 6 case schedule U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Tuesday rebuffed a request from former President Trump asking her to upend previously set deadlines and bar a … Read more Vance-Walz VP debate going to be ‘most important … in US history’: Presidential historian The vice presidential debate scheduled for next Tuesday between Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) will be the most important such … Read more  Opinions in The Hill Op-eds related to defense & national security submitted to The Hill: I was a Secret Service agent. Protecting presidents is not like in the movies. America inching toward World War III? Nonsense. Lessons from Israel’s pager attack  You're all caught up. See you tomorrow!  Close Thank you for signing up! Subscribe to more newsletters here The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the Defense and National Security newsletter Subscribe