Current:Home > ContactRekubit-President Biden to visit Israel on Wednesday: Sec. Blinken -VitalWealth Strategies
Rekubit-President Biden to visit Israel on Wednesday: Sec. Blinken
PredictIQ View
Date:2025-04-07 20:53:14
President Joe Biden will visit Israel on RekubitWednesday, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced on Monday night.
Blinken made the announcement from Israel, where it was early Tuesday morning, following a lengthy meeting with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Beyond the news of Biden’s impending visit, Blinken also announced the U.S. and Israel will develop a plan "that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza and them alone, including the possibility of creating areas to help keep civilians out of harm's way," he said.
MORE: 'Extremely difficult': What would be Israel's objectives in an offensive into Gaza?
At his address to the media, Blinken said Biden has a four-part goal.
"First, the president will reaffirm the United States’ solidarity with Israel and our ironclad commitment to its security. President Biden will again make clear, as he's done unequivocally since Hamas’ slaughter of more than 1400 people, including at least 30 Americans, that Israel has the right and indeed the duty to defend its people from Hamas and other terrorists and to prevent future attacks," Blinken said. "The president will hear from Israel what it needs to defend his people as we continue to work with Congress to meet those needs."
As he continued, Blinken said the president “will underscore our crystal-clear message to any actor, state or non-state, trying to take advantage of this crisis to attack Israel: Don't. To that end, he's deployed two aircraft carrier groups and other military assets to the region.”
Blinken also said Biden will continue coordinating with Israeli partners on working to get hostages released from Hamas.
Lastly, Secretary Blinken said Biden will be briefed on Israel’s “war aims and strategy.”
The Biden administration has pledged unwavering support to Israel in the wake of the terror attacks inflicted by Hamas. The terrorist group launched an unprecedented incursion on Oct. 7, killing hundreds at a music festival and families inside Israeli communities near the Gaza border. Hamas also took nearly 200 hostages from Israel, including Americans.
President Biden called Hamas’ actions “sheer evil” and quickly bolstered munitions to Israel. Top officials, including Secretary Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, have been deployed to the region in a show of solidarity.
In recent days, Biden has also expressed concern about the humanitarian crisis unfolding for Palestinian civilians, stating while Israel has a right to defend itself it must follow the “rules of war."
In his strongest statements yet on Israel's counteroffensive against Hamas, he cautioned that an Israeli occupation of Gaza would be a "big mistake."
The death toll continues to climb in Gaza, with at least 2,750 people killed and 9,700 more injured. In Israel, at least 1,400 people have died and 3,400 have been injured.
Israel, which cut off electricity to Gaza, told more than a million civilians to flee south as it prepares for a possible ground assault. The evacuation call, rejected by Hamas, prompted panic and forced residents to make difficult decisions on whether to stay or leave.
The crisis presents a diplomatic challenge for the Biden administration.
A senior U.S. official previously told ABC News that if Biden did accept Netanyahu's invitation, it would be to try to "modulate" decision-making inside the Israeli cabinet with a belief in the administration that only Biden can successfully urge restraint.
Blinken has said a new focus is "safe zones" for civilians inside Gaza, as well as negotiating the opening of the Rafah border crossing between Israel and Egypt to allow for the flow of humanitarian assistance.
But as of Monday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency said no fuel, food, water or other kinds of aid had entered Gaza.
MORE: How to help victims of the deadly and distructive Israel-Gaza conflict
There are also concerns that the Hamas-Israel war could spread into a wider regional conflict. Fighting has increased tension along the Lebanon-Israel border, where there have been some clashes between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah.
The Pentagon has placed about 2,000 American troops on a heightened state of readiness to possibly be deployed to the Middle East in case they're needed, a U.S. official confirmed to ABC News.
-ABC's Martha Raddatz, Luis Martinez and Jolie Lash contributed to this report.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- Texas Tech says Pop Isaacs 'remains in good standing' despite lawsuit alleging sexual assault
- Coal miners in North Dakota unearth a mammoth tusk buried for thousands of years
- Why Kelly Clarkson Doesn't Allow Her Kids on Social Media
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- What are the benefits of black tea? Caffeine content, more explained.
- Alaska Airlines again grounds all Boeing 737 Max 9 jetliners as more maintenance may be needed
- Mexico residents face deaths threats from cartel if they don't pay to use makeshift Wi-Fi narco-antennas
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- Protesters calling for cease-fire in Israel-Hamas war block traffic in Seattle
Ranking
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- Boeing faces new questions about the 737 Max after a plane suffers a gaping hole in its side
- Polish farmers suspend their blockade at the Ukrainian border after a deal with the government
- Is Georgia’s election system constitutional? A federal judge will decide in trial set to begin
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- 11-year-old killed in Iowa school shooting remembered as a joyful boy who loved soccer and singing
- Boeing faces new questions about the 737 Max after a plane suffers a gaping hole in its side
- A year after pro-Bolsonaro riots and dozens of arrests, Brazil is still recovering
Recommendation
Realtor group picks top 10 housing hot spots for 2025: Did your city make the list?
LeBron James gives blunt assessment of Lakers after latest loss: 'We just suck right now'
Fear of violence looms over a contentious Bangladesh election as polls open
At Florida’s only public HBCU, students watch warily for political influence on teaching of race
Meet 11-year-old skateboarder Zheng Haohao, the youngest Olympian competing in Paris
Prominent Black church in New York sued for gender bias by woman who sought to be its senior pastor
As EPA Looks Toward Negotiations Over Mobile, Alabama, Coal Ash Site, Federal Judge Dismisses Environmental Lawsuit on Technical Grounds
Supreme Court agrees to hear Colorado case over Trump's 2024 ballot eligibility