US President Joe Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday to demonstrate the US commitment. The president is to make the wartime trip to support the country in defeating Hamas as well as preventing an imminent horrific tragedy in the Gaza Strip, according to The NYT.
John F. Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said Biden would hold meetings in Tel Aviv and Amman, Jordan, with leaders of Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority.
Although Biden and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken have supported overthrowing Hamas, they have also warned of possible worldwide outrage if Israel were to blow up buildings, causing Palestinian casualties.
The public will pay attention not to the terrorist attack of October 7, but to the brutality of the retaliation.
We obviously don’t want to see any additional civilian suffering.
The security threat to such a trip became apparent on Monday: warning sirens of approaching rockets went off as Blinken was in Israel on his second visit in a week. The State Secretary and his colleagues took refuge in a bunker for five minutes before resuming their discussions.
Biden has frequently claimed that he feels very safe in Israel, including his visit as president in July 2022. The administration has been in constant conflict with the Israeli leader over his efforts to consolidate his power by reforming the judiciary, as well as efforts by his far-right coalition to expand settlements on disputed lands.
However, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now heads a government that has united specifically to wage war, teaming up with former defence minister Benny Gantz.
Israeli officials assure that they will work to limit civilian deaths. They accuse Hamas of advising Gazans to hold their ground rather than heeding Israeli warnings to evacuate south.
For now, according to one official involved in the talks, Israeli officials have stated that it is too early to think about Gaza’s future because Hamas must first be eliminated.
Biden believes he has the moral authority here. He has stood up for the state of Israel. He believes they are right to be dismantling Hamas. But he wants to show he stands for humanity, too.
There is speculation that the White House will make delaying the invasion a condition of its arrival: a presidential trip could give the Israelis a little more time to prepare for any operation and allow more Gazans to evacuate.
As with Ukraine, Biden stated that he would support the country with everything except sending Americans along with Israeli troops.
Biden has deployed US warships and aircraft to the region to deter Iran and Hezbollah from expanding the war.
In terms of domestic politics, Biden’s visit damages the reputation of Donald Trump, who has called himself Israel’s staunchest supporter. Trump initially praised Hezbollah as “very smart” after the massacre, condemning the group only after being heavily criticised.
