Biden is surveying Hurricane Milton damage in Florida. Harris is going to church in North Carolina

ST. PETE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — President Joe Biden got a firsthand look Sundy at the devastation inflicted on Florida's Gulf Coast by Hurricane Milton as he presses Congress to approve additional emergency disaster funding. Vice President Kamala Harris was spending a second day in North Carolina, hard-hit by Hurricane Helene, to worship with Black churchgoers and hold a campaign rally.

Biden arrived in Tampa and flew by helicopter to St. Pete Beach, surveying the wreckage left behind by Milton, including the roof of Tropicana Field that was shorn off by the powerful storm's winds. Later, as the president’s motorcade drove along the highway, piles of debris, tattered billboards, toppled fences, fallen trees and closed gas stations were seen. It passed through a neighborhood where almost every home had water damage and heaps of belongings were on the curb.

The visit gave Biden another chance to press House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for congressional approval of more aid money before the Nov. 5 election. Johnson said Sunday that lawmakers will deal with the issue after the election because of the amount of time it takes to come up with an estimate. He said on CBS' “Face the Nation” that his “guesstimate” is that $100 billion will be needed.

“We’ll provide the additional resources,” Johnson said.

In Florida, Biden was set to announce $612 million for six Department of Energy projects in areas affected by the hurricanes to improve the resilience of the region’s electric grid, the White House said. The funding includes $94 million for two projects in Florida: $47 million for Gainesville Regional Utilities and $47 million for Switched Source to partner with Florida Power and Light.

Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, visited Raleigh on Saturday to meet with Black elected and religious leaders and help volunteers package personal care items for delivery to victims of Helene in the western part of the state.

She was spending Sunday in Greenville, with plans to speak during a church service as part of her campaign's “Souls to the Polls” effort to help turn out Black churchgoers before Election Day. She was also scheduled to hold a rally to talk about her economic plans and highlight Thursday's start of early voting in the state, her campaign said.

Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, will spend the coming week campaigning in the competitive states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina, according to a Harris campaign official who was not authorized to publicly discuss details not yet made public and spoke on condition of anonymity.

With less than four weeks to go before Election Day, the hurricanes have added another dimension to the closely contested presidential race.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has said the Biden administration’s storm response had been lacking, particularly in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene. Biden and Harris have hammered Trump for promoting falsehoods about the federal response.

Trump made a series of false claims after Helene struck in late September, including incorrectly saying that the federal government is intentionally withholding aid to Republican disaster victims. He also falsely claimed the Federal Emergency Management Agency had run out of money because all of it had gone to programs for immigrants in the country illegally.

Biden said Trump was “not singularly" to blame for the spread of false claims in recent weeks but that he has the "biggest mouth.”

The president is pressing for swift action by Congress to make sure the Small Business Administration and FEMA have the money they need to get through hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30 in the Atlantic. He said Friday that Milton alone had caused an estimated $50 billion in damages.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said last week that FEMA will be able to meet “immediate needs” caused by the two storms. But he warned in the aftermath of Helene that the agency does not have enough funding to make it through the hurricane season.

But Johnson has pushed back, saying the agencies have enough money for the time being and that lawmakers will address the funding issue during the lame-duck session after the election.

Also percolating in the background are tensions between Harris and Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla. As Helene barreled toward Florida, the two traded accusations that the other was trying to politicize the federal storm response.

Harris' office last week suggested that DeSantis was dodging her phone calls. DeSantis responded that he was unaware she had called and he grumbled that she hadn't been involved in the federal government's response before she became the Democratic nominee.

Biden said he hoped to see DeSantis on Sunday, if the governor's schedule permitted. DeSantis was not among the officials who greeted Biden in Tampa or joined his briefing in St. Pete Beach.

Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday evening. At least 10 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of residents remain without power.

Officials say the toll could have been worse if not for widespread evacuations. The still-fresh devastation wrought by Helene just two weeks earlier probably helped compel many people to flee.

Boak reported from Raleigh, North Carolina.

President Joe Biden, right, walks during a tour of areas affected by Hurricane Milton in St. Pete Beach, Fla., following an aerial tour, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The roof of the Tropicana Field is damaged the morning after Hurricane Milton hit the region, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

President Joe Biden walks to board Air Force One he departs Joint Base Andrews, Md., on his way to Tampa, Fla, to visit the Hurricane Milton affected areas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

FILE - The roof of the Tropicana Field is damaged the morning after Hurricane Milton hit the region, Oct. 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson, File)

With President Joe Biden aboard, Marine One surveys areas affected by Hurricane Milton in Florida, from Tampa to St. Petersburg, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Tampa, Fla. Mayor Jane Castor, left, speaks with President Joe Biden as he arrives at MacDill Air Force Base, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

With President Joe Biden aboard, Marine One surveys areas affected by Hurricane Milton in Florida, from Tampa to St. Petersburg, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The destroyed roof of the Tropicana Dome is seen in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

An aerial drone view of the scene where a downtown high-rise was smashed by a fallen crane from Hurricane Milton at 490 1st Avenue South, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024 in St. Petersburg, Fla. The building damaged by Hurricane Milton is home to the Tampa Bay Times, a law firm, a defense contractor and more. (Dirk Shadd/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

President Joe Biden, from left, joined by Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi, and on screen from left, FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell and Vice President Kamala Harris, speaks about the federal government's response to Hurricanes Milton and Helene, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris waves as she arrives at Raleigh-Durham International Airport in Morrisville, N.C., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

President Joe Biden speaks about the federal government's response to Hurricanes Milton and Helene as Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas listens, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, packs diapers Greg Hatem, owner of The Pit Authentic Barbecue, as Harris visits the restaurant to learn about their relief efforts for Hurricane Helene, in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

President Joe Biden speaks about the federal government's response to Hurricanes Milton and Helene as as Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm listens, in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Iran on Sunday warned the U.S. to keep its military forces out of Israel. The comments came in a post on the social platform X long associated with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. He referred to the possibility that the U.S. might send one of its complex Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems to Israel, which would involve the deployment of soldiers to operate it.

Israel is widely believed to be preparing a military response to Iran's Oct. 1 attack when it fired roughly 180 missiles into Israel.

Israel has been escalating its campaign against Hezbollah with waves of heavy airstrikes across Lebanon and a ground invasion at the border after a year of exchanges of fire. Israel is now at war with Hamas in Gaza and Hamas’ ally Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities, who do not say how many were fighters but say women and children make up more than half of the fatalities. The war has destroyed large areas of Gaza and displaced about 90% of its population of 2.3 million people.

It’s been a year since Hamas-led militants blew holes in Israel’s security fence and stormed into army bases and farming communities, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducting another 250. They are still holding about 100 captives inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Here's the latest:

The U.N. peacekeeping mission in Lebanon says Israeli tanks forcibly entered the gates of one of its bases in southern Lebanon and destroyed the main gate early Sunday. A UNIFIL statement calls it a “further flagrant violation of international law.” The tanks later left.

Israel has warned the U.N. force to evacuate its positions during its offensive in southern Lebanon against the Hezbollah militant group. International criticism is growing after Israeli strikes wounded five peacekeepers in recent days.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday expressed regret for wounding peacekeepers but accused the U.N. mission of providing a “human shield” for Hezbollah.

Israel has long accused the U.N. of being biased against it, and relations have worsened during the yearlong war in Gaza.

UNIFIL was created in 1978 to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli troops after Israel invaded and occupied south Lebanon.

TEL AVIV, Israel — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon of serving as “human shields” for Hezbollah after Israeli strikes wounded five of them in recent days.

The Israeli military has warned UNIFIL to evacuate southern Lebanon as it carries out air and ground operations against Hezbollah militants, but the peacekeepers have so far refused.

Netanyahu said Sunday that their refusal to clear out “has the effect of providing Hezbollah terrorists with human shields,” saying they had become “hostages of Hezbollah.”

“We regret the injury to the UNIFIL soldiers and we are doing everything in our power to prevent this injury. But the simple and obvious way to ensure this is simply to get them out of the danger zone,” he said in a video addressed to the U.N. secretary-general, who has been banned from entering Israel.

The military has ordered the peacekeepers to move five kilometers (three miles) north, which would effectively keep them from doing their mission. They have already halted patrols because of air and ground attacks.

Israel has long accused the U.N. of being biased against it and relations have plunged further since the start of the war in Gaza. It has accused the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees of having been infiltrated by Hamas, allegations the agency denies.

ROME — Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni has told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the security of U.N. forces in southern Lebanon must be “guaranteed at all times.”

In a phone conversation Sunday with Netanyahu, Meloni also stressed that UNIFIL “acts under a mandate from the Security Council to contribute to regional stability.” She reiterated “the absolute necessity that the security of UNIFIL personnel be guaranteed at all times."

Netanyahu says Hezbollah uses U.N. peacekeepers as “human shields” after Israeli strikes wounded five of them in recent days.

The Italian premier also said she is convinced that, through the full implementation of U .N. Security Council Resolution 1701, “we can contribute to the stabilization of the Israeli-Lebanese border and ensure the return home of all displaced persons.”

Both Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers are deployed in southern Lebanon to enforce the resolution that ended a bloody monthlong 2006 war between Israel and Hezbollah.

BAGHDAD — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Sunday that the Middle East faces “dangerous challenges” as Tehran anticipates an Israeli strike.

“Iran does not seek war, but we are prepared for war,” Araghchi said at a news conference in Baghdad after meeting with his Iraqi counterpart.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein said Israel was forbidden from using Iraq’s airspace in any possible strike against Iran.

Baghdad’s top diplomat said an outbreak of regional war will create not only a global crisis but also fertile ground for the reemergence of extremist groups like the Islamic State.

“We are trying to keep the conflict away from the region and Iraq,” he said.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s foreign minister indirectly threatened U.S. forces potentially operating in Israel in an online post Sunday.

The comments came in a post on the social platform X long associated with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who helped reached Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.

In the message, Araghchi referred to the United States potentially sending one of its Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems to Israel. Any move of one of the systems, known by the acronym THAAD, to Israel would involve the deployment of soldiers to operate the complex system.

“The US has been delivering record amount of arms to Israel,” the X message read. “It is now also putting lives of its troops at risk by deploying them to operate US missile systems in Israel.”

It added: “While we have made tremendous efforts in recent days to contain an all-out war in our region, I say it clearly that we have no red lines in defending our people and interests.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry did not respond to a request for comment over the remarks, which were carried by Iranian state media.

Israel is widely believed to be planning to attack Iran over its missile barrage on Israel earlier this month, its second direct attack on Israel during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war that’s widened to Lebanon and involved other Iranian-backed militant groups in the region.

The THAAD is a defensive system that shoots down incoming ballistic missiles, like those fired by Iran in its last attack.

Associated Press writer Jon Gambrell contributed.

VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis reiterated his call on Sunday for an “immediate ceasefire" in the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and asked for the U.N. peacekeepers to be “respected.”

“I continue to follow with concern what is happening in the Middle East,” the pontiff said during his Angelus prayer from the balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square.

“Let’s pursue the paths of diplomacy and dialogue to achieve peace,” he added, stressing he feels close to all the peoples involved: Palestine, Israel, Lebanon. He prayed for all the victims, the displaced, the hostages, saying he hoped they would be released “immediately.”

The pope wished “that this great and unnecessary suffering generated by hatred and revenge will soon come to an end.”

Israeli soldiers are seen during a ground operation in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)

Israeli soldiers display what they say is an entrance to a Hezbollah tunnel found during their ground operation in southern Lebanon, near the border with Israel, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Sam McNeil)