President Biden is considering visiting Israel in the coming days — despite the looming threat of a full-scale ground invasion by the Middle Eastern country into Gaza.
The commander-in-chief has not made any official travel plans to Israel as it enters its second week at war with Hamas, a senior administration official speaking on the condition of anonymity told the Associated Press Sunday.
Biden has staunchly voiced support for the US ally since the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas that killed more than 1,400 people including at least 30 Americans.
However, he has also made efforts to rein in Israel from further heightening tensions by reoccupying Gaza.
“I think it’d be a big mistake,” Biden said during an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes that aired Sunday.
“Look, what happened in Gaza, in my view, is Hamas, and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people. And I think that it would be a mistake for Israel to occupy Gaza again.”
Biden speaks at a dinner hosted by the Human Rights Campaign at the Washington Convention Center in Washington on Oct. 14, 2023.REUTERS
The president and his administration have refused to criticize Israel or its relentless bombing campaign that has killed hundreds of civilians, including women and children, in Gaza.
The Israeli government on Friday gave one million people living in the northern area of the Gaza Strip 24 hours to evacuate before an expected assault on the country.
At least 70 Palestinians were killed and another 200 injured when they were hit by an airstrike while trying to follow the orders — an attack Israel denies carrying out.
An aerial view shows members of the media during a visit to Kibbutz Kfar Aza, in the aftermath of a deadly attack by Hamas gunmen from the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel on Oct. 15, 2023.REUTERS
At least 2,400 Palestinians have been killed in the war so far.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has already been traveling around the Mideast this past week trying to prevent the war with Hamas from igniting a broader regional conflict.
Blinken emphasized that Israel has the right to defend itself from the attacks by Hamas, but needs to be mindful of the cost of civilian life when carrying out its counteroffensive missions.
A view of destruction after the deadly attack on a police station in the city of Sderot on the second day of the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.ZUMAPRESS.com
“I’m confident that Israel is going to act under the rules of war,” Biden said on 60 Minutes.
”There’s standards that democratic institutions and countries go by,” he said. “And I’m confident that there’s going to be an ability for the innocents in Gaza to be able to have access to medicine and food and water.”
The White House also appointed David Satterfield, a former ambassador to Lebanon and Turkey, to lead US efforts to get humanitarian assistance to “vulnerable people through the Middle East.” Satterfield was expected to arrive in Israel on Monday.
With Post Wires
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