Current:Home > MarketsRekubit-President Biden to visit Israel on Wednesday: Sec. Blinken -Secure Horizon Growth
Rekubit-President Biden to visit Israel on Wednesday: Sec. Blinken
SafeX Pro View
Date:2025-04-06 12:42:36
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! (58)
Related
- Pressure on a veteran and senator shows what’s next for those who oppose Trump
- U.S. Has Recovered Some Of The Millions Paid In Ransom To Colonial Pipeline Hackers
- Bruce Willis’ Wife Emma Heming Reacts to Comment About Getting Her “5 Minutes” of Fame
- Why Ashley Tisdale Decided to Share Her 10-Year Alopecia Journey
- Trump suggestion that Egypt, Jordan absorb Palestinians from Gaza draws rejections, confusion
- Get to Know Top Chef's Season 20 Contestants Before the World All-Stars Premiere
- A new law proposed in Italy would ban English — and violators could face fines of up to $110K
- Israeli forces storm Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque, arresting hundreds of Palestinian worshipers
- NFL Week 15 picks straight up and against spread: Bills, Lions put No. 1 seed hopes on line
- Oscar Pistorius denied parole a decade after murdering girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in South Africa
Ranking
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- How Cameron Diaz Supported BFF Drew Barrymore Through Difficult Alcohol Struggle
- How Jordan Wiseley's Split With Tori Deal Affected His Future on The Challenge
- Transcript: Preet Bharara on Face the Nation, April 2, 2023
- Civic engagement nonprofits say democracy needs support in between big elections. Do funders agree?
- Pope Francis leaves hospital; Still alive, he quips
- Stung By Media Coverage, Silicon Valley Starts Its Own Publications
- Ukraine's Zelenskyy, with an eye on the West, warns of perils of allowing Russia any battlefield victory
Recommendation
Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
Now It's McDonald's Turn. A Data Breach Hits The Chain In Asia
A Ransomware Attack Hit Up To 1,500 Businesses. A Cybersecurity Expert On What's Next
Pope Francis to be hospitalized for several days with respiratory infection, Vatican says
Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
Climber found dead on glacier after falling over 1,600 feet in the Alps
Is It OK To Commemorate One Of Iraq's Bloodiest Battles In A Video Game?
Vanderpump Rules' Ariana Madix Encourages Raquel Leviss to Make Mistakes in Must-See Preview