- Joe Biden will be in Israel on Wednesday, Antony Blinken confirmed on Monday
- The president will receive a briefing from the Israelis about the security situation
- Analysts said it suggests the ground invasion of Gaza will not start until after the president’s visit
President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday, the Secretary of State announced on Monday night in order to ‘reaffirm solidarity’ with its closest ally in the Middle East, as well as to press for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza.
Antony Blinken made the announcement after six hours of talks with Israeli officials. Biden was invited at the weekend by Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Following hours long meetings with senior government officials, Blinken said that Biden’s visit was in ‘solidarity with Israel and our ironclad commitment to its security.’
The secretary went on to say that both countries have a agreed to ‘develop a plan’ that will allow aid into Gaza. ‘It is critical that aid begin flowing into Gaza as soon as possible,’ Blinken said.
Blinken added that officials could also work together to create ‘areas to help keep civilians out of harm’s way.’
After his Israeli visit, Biden will travel to Jordan in order to meet with that country’s leaders, Egyptian leaders as well as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
It will be Biden’s second visit to an active war zone this year. In February, he traveled to the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, to meet President Volodymyr Zelensky and mark the anniversary of that country’s conflict with Russia.
Blinken said Biden, while in Tel Aviv, will be given a security briefing from Israel and discuss efforts to secure the release of hostages, including Americans.
‘He’s coming here at a critical moment for Israel, for the region, and for the world,’ Blinken said.
‘And he’s coming here to do the following.
‘First, the president will reaffirm the United States’ solidarity with Israel, and our iron-clad commitment to its security.
‘President Biden will again make clear – as he has done unequivocally since Hamas’s 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.
‘The president will hear from Israel what it needs to defend its people, as we continue to work with Congress to meet those needs.
‘Second: President Biden will underscore a crystal clear message to any actor – state or non-state – trying to take advantage of this crisis to attack Israel: Don’t.’
Biden will then travel to Jordan, to meet the most important Arab leaders involved in the conflict – King Abdullah of Jordan, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi of Egypt, and Mahmoud Abbas, the president of Palestine.
Abbas has repeatedly insisted that Hamas does not represent the people of Palestine.
Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House spokesman, said during his meetings Biden ‘will reiterate that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination and discuss the humanitarian needs of civilians in Gaza.’
Blinken said his six hours of talks with Israel had secured agreements for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, and included discussions of safe zones for Gazans.
John Kirby, the spokesman for the National Security Council, said in a call with journalists that Biden’s visit to the region was to hear from all sides what they need, and ‘glean whatever additional information there might be out there.’
Kirby said rescuing the hostages remained a top priority, stressing they wanted to ‘get Americans back at home and with their families, where they belong.’
‘He will have a chance to discuss the idea, the issue of humanitarian assistance, and making sure that we’re all working together,’ said Kirby, adding that they were working on mechanisms to ensure the aid went to the Palestinian people and not Hamas.
Kirby said officials were also working to secure ways for those trapped in Gaza to leave – in particular American citizens.
Earlier on Monday, Blinken experienced the tense security situation in Israel firsthand while meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, when the two had to briefly retreat to a security bunker when air raid sirens went off.
It was the nation’s top diplomat’s second trip to Israel within days, as Israel prepares for a possible ground invasion of Gaza in response to the October 7 Hamas terror attacks.
His Monday trip was twice punctuated by air raid sirens, amid continued Hamas rocket attacks.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller confirmed the security precaution.
‘During the Secretary’s meeting with PM Netanyahu and the war cabinet, the air raid sirens went off and they sheltered in bunker for five minutes,’ he said.
Other officials also had to find shelter in stairways and secure areas until they got the all clear.
Israel’s Iron Dome defenses were activated while Blinken was en route to Israel’s Ministry of Defense for a meeting.
It came on a day when Blinken met with the new war cabinet of Israel’s new unity government. That included the minister of defense, Yoav Gallant, who met with Blinken at the Kirya, which houses the Israeli Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv.
The U.S. on Friday dispatched a second aircraft carrier group, the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, to the region.
The Pentagon has also been positioning an air armada in the region, along with additional forces to advise Israel or provide medical assets as needed.
Daily Mail UK
