Current:Home > ContactPresident Biden to visit Israel on Wednesday: Sec. Blinken -VitalWealth Strategies
President Biden to visit Israel on Wednesday: Sec. Blinken
PredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Center View
Date:2025-04-07 16:47:29
President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday, 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! (7523)
Related
- 'Stranger Things' prequel 'The First Shadow' is headed to Broadway
- Read what a judge told Elizabeth Holmes before sending her to prison for 11 years
- Why Kieran Culkin Hasn't Met Brother Macaulay Culkin and Brenda Song's New Baby Yet
- U.N. calls on Taliban to halt executions as Afghanistan's rulers say 175 people sentenced to death since 2021
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- King Charles' official coronation pictures released: Meet the man who captured the photos
- How to avoid sharing false or misleading news about the election
- Shaquille O’Neal Shares Reason Behind Hospitalization
- What were Tom Selleck's juicy final 'Blue Bloods' words in Reagan family
- Ulta 24-Hour Flash Sale: Take 50% Off Alicia Keys' Keys Soulcare, First Aid Beauty, Urban Decay, and More
Ranking
- Your Wedding Guests Will Thank You if You Get Married at These All-Inclusive Resorts
- WhatsApp says its service is back after an outage disrupted messages
- Prince Harry at the coronation: How the royal ceremonies had him on the sidelines
- The world generates so much data that new unit measurements were created to keep up
- Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
- Have you invested in crypto on FTX or other platforms? We want to hear from you
- K-Pop Star Chaeyoung of TWICE Apologizes for Wearing Swastika on T-Shirt
- Transcript: Rep. Patrick McHenry on Face the Nation, May 7, 2023
Recommendation
Intel's stock did something it hasn't done since 2022
Twitter's Safety Chief Quit. Here's Why.
Ashley Graham Celebrates Full Circle Moment Hosting HGTV's Barbie Dreamhouse Challenge
These are some of the Twitter features users want now that Elon Musk owns it
The Daily Money: Disney+ wants your dollars
MMA Fighter Iuri Lapicus Dead at 27
Elon Musk expected to begin mass Twitter layoffs
Fire deep in a gold mine kills almost 30 workers in Peru