Biden to visit Israel in ‘critical moment’ for the region, says Blinken
President Joe Biden will travel to Israel for talks with prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday as concerns grow that the Israel-Hamas war could spiral into a regional conflict.
The US president’s plans to travel to Tel Aviv were announced by US secretary of state Antony Blinken as the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip grows more dire and as Israel prepares for a ground attack on the enclave to root out Hamas militants behind what US and Israeli officials have called the most lethal assault against Jews since the Holocaust.
“He is coming here at a critical moment for Israel, for the region and for the world,” Blinken said early on Tuesday, after more than seven hours of talks with Netanyahu and other top Israeli officials. During those talks, he was forced to shelter in a bunker for five minutes when sirens went off.
Israel would brief Biden on its war aims and strategy, said Blinken, and on how it will conduct operations “in a way that minimises civilian casualties and enables humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not benefit Hamas.”
The US and Israel agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organisations to reach civilians in Gaza, Blinken said. He said the two sides were discussing the “possibility of creating areas to help keep civilians out of harm’s way”.
“We’ve been crystal clear about the need for humanitarian aid to be able to continue to flow into Gaza,” White House national security council spokesperson John Kirby said. “That has been a consistent call by President Biden and certainly by this entire administration.”
Truckloads of aid idled Monday at Egypt’s border with Gaza, barred from entry, as residents and humanitarian groups pleaded for water, food and fuel for generators, saying the tiny Palestinian enclave sealed off by Israel after last week’s rampage by Hamas was near total collapse.
Biden will also travel to Jordan to meet King Abdullah II, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sissi and Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, Kirby said later.
White House officials said Biden’s talks with Arab leaders in Jordan would largely focus on the humanitarian concerns for Gaza’s 2.3 million people.
Gaza authorities say more than 2,800 people have been killed there, around a quarter of them children, and more than 10,000 wounded after strikes by Israel in retaliation for Hamas’ attacks that have killed 1,400 Israelis.
The latest diplomatic efforts came amid reports that about 2,000 US troops had been selected to prepare to deploy in non-combat roles in possible support of Israel, and the distribution by Hamas of its first hostage video, showing an injured woman who identifies herself as 21-year-old Mia Schem from Shoham, in central Israel.
In the 78-second video, Schem’s injured arm is shown being treated by an unidentified medical worker. She says she is in Gaza, is being given medicine and wants to go home. It is unclear when it was filmed and if she was under duress during filming. Analysis by the New York Times suggests parts of it were filmed six days ago.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister warned of “pre-emptive action” if Israel moves closer to its looming ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
“Leaders of the resistance will not allow the Zionist regime to do whatever it wants in Gaza and then go after other resistance groups after it’s done with Gaza,” Hossein Amirabdollahian told state television. “Therefore any preemptive action is possible in the coming hours.”
Kirby said the US had not seen any signs that Iran might try to get directly involved in the Israel-Hamas conflict. The US has already sent two aircraft carrier groups to the region, and officials have said they would ask Congress for upward of $2bn in additional aid to help Israel and Ukraine.
Blinken has been crisscrossing the Middle East in the past week trying to prevent the war with Hamas from igniting a broader regional conflict. After a meeting with al-Sissi in Cairo, Egypt’s state-run media said Blinken had been told that Israel’s Gaza operation has exceeded “the right of self-defence” and turned into “a collective punishment”. Collective punishment is regarded as a war crime under international humanitarian law.
White House officials bristled about whether Biden would ask Netanyahu and Israel officials to show restraint or set any conditions on any new US military aid that could be in the pipeline.
“We are not putting conditions on the military assistance that we are providing to Israel,” Kirby said. “They have a right to defend themselves. They have a right to go after this terrorist threat.”
Israel is also preparing for the potential of a new front opening on its northern border with Lebanon, where it has exchanged fire repeatedly with the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group. The military ordered residents of 28 Israeli communities near the border to evacuate.
European Union leaders will hold an emergency summit on Tuesday as concern mounts that the war between Israel and Hamas could fuel tensions in Europe and bring more refugees in search of sanctuary.
With Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse