Nearly two weeks after the horrific Hamas attack on southern Israel that killed more than 1,400 people, Joe Biden, the president of the United States of America, has in effect endorsed Israel’s position on the conflict during a brief visit to Tel Aviv. While rightly condemning Hamas, Mr Biden’s refusal to directly criticise Israel for its deadly bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip, including of hospitals and schools, marks a moment that could define his legacy in the Middle East. The direction of the war from hereon will be inextricably tied to Mr Biden’s posture. Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has already killed more than 3,300 people, many of them children. If Israel launches a full-fledged ground invasion, as it has said it will, that toll is certain to rise sharply. Even if the US at that point tries to project itself as a peacemaker, those efforts will carry little — if any — credibility in West Asia, a region where its legitimacy as a reliable partner is already low. The image of Mr Biden embracing Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in Tel Aviv amid the bombing of Gaza will stay entrenched in the collective memory of the region. The US president did speak of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Washington has unveiled a fresh aid package for the besieged enclave, but all of that was undermined when Mr Biden seemingly referred to Gazans as the “other team."

To be sure, it is also clear that the US is engaged in hectic diplomacy to try and control how far the war escalates. But if any nation should know that complex conflicts have a life of their own, it is the US, which, despite being the world’s dominant superpower, has been humbled in Vietnam, Afghanistan and elsewhere. Already, the limitations of US diplomacy are on show. Jordan, a key US ally, called off an invitation to Mr Biden to visit Amman for a summit with other regional leaders after the bombing of a hospital in Gaza that Palestinian officials and Israel have blamed on each other. Israel, meanwhile, continues to bomb the only crossing between Gaza and Egypt despite Mr Biden’s assertion that Mr Netanyahu had agreed to allow aid to pass through that border. If the war turns even more deadly in the weeks to come, Mr Biden, in the eyes of many, will have blood on his hands.