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Biden to visit Israel in ‘critical moment’ for the region, says Blinken Biden to visit Israel in ‘critical moment’ for the region, says Blinken
(about 4 hours later)
Joe Biden to meet Benjamin Netanyahu, with Israel’s war aims and aid for Gaza high on the agenda, says US secretary of state US says it has reached agreement with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on provision of humanitarian relief for people in Gaza
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. Joe Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday after the US said it had reached agreement with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government on the provision of humanitarian relief and safe areas to the more than 2 million people in Gaza currently under fire, and in urgent need of water, food and medical help.
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. The US president will also go to Amman for talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah, the Egyptian president Abdel Fatah al-Sisi and the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas, in an attempt to fend off an even greater humanitarian disaster and a regional war that could draw in Iran and the US.
“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. The president’s trip was announced by the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, after more than seven hours of talks with Netanyahu and his national security cabinet. The Washington Post and Haaretz reported that the announcement was held back until the Israeli leadership agreed corridors for humanitarian aid to enter Gaza and the creation of safe areas for civilians that would not be bombed.
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.” Blinken said Biden was coming “at a critical moment for Israel, for the region and for the world”.
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”. He said Israel would brief Biden on its war aims and strategy, and on how it would 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”.
“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.” Convoys of lorries carrying emergency food water and medical supplies are waiting on the Egyptian side of the border with Gaza waiting for the crossing point at Rafah to open, while Palestinians with foreign citizenship wait on the other side to leave the enclave. Egypt controls the border but requires Israeli agreement on what and who is allowed to pass through it. The Rafah border post was hit by a blast attributed to an Israeli airstrike on Monday evening.
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. At least 49 Palestinians were killed in overnight Israeli strikes that hit homes in Rafah and Khan Younis, Gaza’s interior ministry said.
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. The UN reported continuing heavy Israeli bombing along the Gaza Strip, with the Palestinian death toll from the past 10 days approaching 3,000. Israel has partly restored water supply to southern Gaza but the UN said it constituted only 4% of the normal flow into the territory. The lack of clean water and the presence of bodies under the rubble has brought fears of an epidemic. Hospitals are in a state of collapse in the absence of electricity and fuel for generators.
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. Israel has amassed a large force around Gaza’s borders in preparation for an invasion, in the wake of a Hamas attack on 7 October that killed more than 1,300 Israelis, mostly civilians. The extremist group is holding 199 Israelis hostage, including women and children, inside Gaza. The ground assault has been held back during Blinken’s diplomatic initiative and amid fears that it could trigger an offensive by Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border.
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. As well as humanitarian corridors for aid to enter Gaza, Blinken said he had held discussions with the Israelis on the “possibility of creating areas to help keep civilians out of harm’s way”.
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. “We’ve been crystal clear about the need for humanitarian aid to be able to continue to flow into Gaza,” the White House national security council spokesperson, John Kirby, said. “That has been a consistent call by President Biden and certainly by this entire administration.”
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. In his talks with Israeli and Arab leaders this week, Biden will also be seeking to ward off a wider regional conflagration following threats from Hezbollah and its backer, Iran.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister warned of “pre-emptive action” if Israel moves closer to its looming ground offensive in the Gaza Strip. Israel has ordered the evacuation of 28 villages to create a 2km security zone on its Lebanese border, as Netanyahu warned Israelis they should prepare for a long battle.
“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.” “And I have a message for Iran and Hezbollah, don’t test us in the north. Don’t make the same mistake you once made. Because today the price you will pay will be much heavier,” the prime minister told the Knesset on Monday.
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. Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, has warned of “pre-emptive action” if Israel moves closer to its looming ground offensive in the Gaza Strip.
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. “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,” Amir-Abdollahian told state television. “Therefore any preemptive action is possible in the coming hours.”
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. “The resistance front is capable of waging a long-term war with the enemy,” he added.
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 deployed two aircraft carrier groups to the region and about 2,000 US troops had been put on alert for non-combat roles in possible support of Israel. The White House has asked Congress to approve more than $2bn (£1.64bn) in additional assistance for both Israel and Ukraine.
“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.”“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. On Tuesday, the head of US Central Command, Gen Michael “Erik” Kurilla, arrived in Israel on an unannounced visit, saying he had come to ensure his Israeli counterparts had the military supplies they needed.
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. Hamas released a video on Monday in which a French-Israeli hostage, 21-year-old Mia Schem, was shown having her injured arm treated and appealing for her release.
With Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse Khaled Meshaal, a top Hamas official, said the group “has what it needs” in order to free all Palestinians in Israel’s jails, suggesting that the hostages could be used as bargaining chips. The Hamas armed wing has said separately that the non-Israelis it was holding were “guests” who would be released “when circumstances allow”.