U.S. President Joe Biden stated on Saturday that Israel appears to have targeted only military sites in its retaliatory attack against Iran the previous night.

“It looks like they didn’t hit anything other than military targets,” he told reporters.

This statement marked another attempt by Washington to subtly express its approval of Israel’s strikes. A senior Biden administration official had informed reporters hours earlier that the attacks were “targeted and proportional with low risk of civilian harm.” Biden added, “My hope is this is the end,” as the U.S. aims to balance its support for Israel’s right to defend itself following Iran’s October 1 ballistic missile strike, while also calling for de-escalation in the region.

Pres. Biden on Saturday said it appeared Israel had only struck military targets in its attack on Iran and that he hopes it is “the end.”

This sentiment was reiterated later on Saturday by U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who told reporters, “We are very adamant that we must see de-escalation in the region going forward, and that will be our focus. Of course, we maintain the importance of supporting Israel’s right to defend itself,” she said, also emphasizing U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to the region this week to promote ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon.

In the nearly four weeks since Iran’s attack, the U.S. has sought to use its influence over Israel to shape a response that would prevent an all-out war between Israel and Iran. Biden publicly opposed targeting Iranian nuclear and oil sites, leaving military installations like those struck early Saturday as the primary viable option for Israel, which relies heavily on U.S. support. In preparation for the counter-strikes, the U.S. deployed several THAAD air defense batteries to Israel, along with troops to operate them—marking the first time U.S. personnel have been stationed on the ground to defend Israel.