Current:Home > StocksPresident Biden to visit Israel on Wednesday: Sec. Blinken -StockLine
President Biden to visit Israel on Wednesday: Sec. Blinken
View
Date:2025-04-14 11:42:17
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! (5911)
Related
- 'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
- Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak hospitalized in Mexico
- Albania’s deal with Italy on migrants has been welcomed by many. But others are confused and angry
- Myanmar’s military chief says a major offensive by ethnic groups was funded by the drug trade
- Appeals court scraps Nasdaq boardroom diversity rules in latest DEI setback
- As Hollywood scrambles to get back to work, stars and politicians alike react to strike ending
- Really impressive Madrid, Sociedad advance in Champions League. Man United again falls in wild loss
- Belmont University student hit in the head by stray bullet in Nashville
- In ‘Nickel Boys,’ striving for a new way to see
- Germans commemorate ‘Night of Broken Glass’ terror as antisemitism is on the rise again
Ranking
- Louvre will undergo expansion and restoration project, Macron says
- Back in China 50 years after historic trip, a Philadelphia Orchestra violinist hopes to build ties
- Pizza Hut in Hong Kong rolls out snake-meat pizza for limited time
- Spain’s Socialists to grant amnesty to Catalan separatists in exchange for support of new government
- The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
- Megan Fox Shares How Fiancé Machine Gun Kelly Helped Her “Heal” Through New Book
- Belmont University student hit in the head by stray bullet in Nashville
- Actors strike ends, but what's next? Here's when you can expect your shows and movies back
Recommendation
'Vanderpump Rules' star DJ James Kennedy arrested on domestic violence charges
The moon will 'smile' at Venus early Thursday morning. Here's how to see it
Plastic balloon responsible for death of beached whale found in North Carolina
Rome scrubs antisemitic graffiti from Jewish Quarter on 85th anniversary of the Nazi Kristallnacht
DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
Sharks might be ferocious predators, but they're no match for warming oceans, studies say
One teen dead and one critically injured in Miami crash early Wednesday morning
Chick-fil-A announces return of Peppermint Chip Milkshake and two new holiday coffees