TEL AVIV, Israel — President Joe Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
Blinken made the announcement at about 3 a.m. local time Tuesday from Tel Aviv. The announcement of the president’s visit comes nine days after Hamas militants attacked Israel from the Gaza Strip.
Blinken said during a news conference that Biden “will hear from Israel how it will conduct its operations in a way that minimizes civilian casualties and enables humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not benefit Hamas.”
Breaking News: President Biden plans to visit Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. https://t.co/WXAHNB9S8j
— The New York Times (@nytimes) October 17, 2023
The president “will reaffirm the United States’ solidarity with Israel and our ironclad commitment to its security” Blinken told reporters.
“President Biden will again make clear, as he’s done unequivocally since the Hamas slaughter of more than 1,400 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.”
In addition to visiting Israel, Biden will discuss humanitarian aid with Arab leaders in Jordan, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters, according to The Associated Press.
“(Biden) will certainly reiterate that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination,” Kirby told reporters, CNN reported. “And he’ll discuss again the humanitarian needs of all civilians in Gaza.”
Blinken made the announcement early Tuesday after meeting for seven hours with Israel’s war cabinet and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, CNN and the AP reported.
It is the second time this year that the president has visited a war zone. Biden visited Kyiv, Ukraine, in February.
Biden visited Israel in July 2022 as part of a four-day swing through the Middle East, PBS reported.
Israeli officials said that Netanyahu extended an invitation for Biden to visit Israel during a telephone call on Saturday, according to Axios.
Biden’s visit to Israel comes as that nation’s military officials said it was preparing for the “next stages of the war” against Hamas. Troops were preparing for “strikes from the air, sea and land” and “significant ground operations,” CNN reported.
Israel’s retaliation for those attacks has already surpassed the scope of past conflicts with Hamas, The New York Times reported. Hundreds of airstrikes have been launched from Israel to the Gaza Strip in retaliation. Israeli officials have said attacks have killed at least six of Hamas’ senior leaders so far.
The expected attack could be Israel’s largest ground operation since it invaded Lebanon in 2006, according to the Times.
At least 1,400 people have been killed as a result of the attacks on Oct. 7, the newspaper reported.
The State Department said Saturday that 29 U.S. citizens have died in the Hamas attack and subsequent violence, The Washington Post reported. At least 15 U.S. citizens and one U.S. permanent resident are missing, according to the newspaper.
