Israel. Joe Biden guarantees that US support “is solid and unshakable”

“[Os EUA] stand with the people of Israel in the face of these terrorist attacks. Israel has the right to defend itself and its people, period. There is never a justification for terrorist attacks and my administration’s support for Israel’s security is solid and unwavering,” said Biden, at the White House, quoted by the Associated Press (AP), about what he conveyed in a phone call with the Prime Minister Israeli, Benjamin Netanyahu.

The US President also warned Israel’s enemies that “this is not the time for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to gain an advantage.”

Biden said he would remain in close contact with Netanyahu and called King Abdullah II of Jordan and members of Congress to discuss the situation.

The President instructed his team to maintain contacts with the Palestinian National Authority, Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and their European allies.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken was at the White House for meetings and spoke with the President and Israeli Foreign Minister, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israel’s Defense Minister.

The Pentagon chief said the US is committed to helping Israel “protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism” and with its defense needs.

The unprecedented Hamas incursion, which Biden noted occurred shortly after Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, was the deadliest attack in Israel in years and threatens to escalate into a wider conflict.

Israel retaliated with airstrikes on Gaza. “We are at war,” said Netanyahu, in response to attacks by the Palestinian movement Hamas, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007.

Joe Biden considered that the people of Israel were “under attack orchestrated by a terrorist organization” and reaffirmed “that the United States stands by Israel” and “will never stop” supporting it, guaranteeing “the help that its citizens need and so that they can continue to defend themselves.”

“The world saw terrible images — thousands of rockets falling within hours on Israeli cities” and Hamas killed not only Israeli soldiers but also Israeli civilians — “in the streets, in their homes, innocent people murdered and injured, entire families taken hostage by Hamas just days after Israel celebrated the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. It’s unfair,” he pointed out.

The American President considered it “heartbreaking” to see the lives of so many Israeli families “destroyed” and assured that, like the first lady, Jill Biden, he prays for them.

“Make no mistake, the United States supports the State of Israel. We have done so since we became the first nation to recognize Israel, 75 years ago, just 11 minutes after its founding,” concluded Biden.

The hostilities dealt a significant blow to US efforts to expand the Abraham Accords, fostered by the Donald Trump administration – which led to the establishment of official relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco in 2020.

Blinken was planning a trip to the Middle East, with stops in Israel and Saudi Arabia, later this month, but those plans are now on hold, according to multiple U.S. law enforcement sources who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

More than 200 people died today in Israel in the Hamas offensive, while at least 232 Palestinians died in Gaza due to the Israeli air strikes that followed, according to the most recent data confirmed by medical sources, cited by international agencies.

The surprise attack launched by Hamas against Israeli territory, in an operation called “Al-Aqsa Storm”, involved the launch of thousands of rockets and the incursion of armed militiamen by land, sea and air.

In response, Israel bombed several Hamas facilities in the Gaza Strip from the air, in an operation it dubbed “Iron Swords”.

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