Joe Biden, the President of the United States, will visit Israel on Wednesday to demonstrate his “steadfast support” for the nation as it prepares to launch a military operation against the Palestinian militant Hamas following its attack on October 7.
The White House said President Biden and Israeli officials will also “consult on next steps.”
The US president, following his stop in Israel, will head to Amman, Jordan, to meet with King Abdullah, Egyptian President Sisi, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the same day.
The White House said ahead of his trip, “He 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.”
Earlier on Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that in Tel Aviv Biden would reaffirm Washington’s ironclad commitment to Israel’s security.
John Kirby, National Security Council Spokesman, told reporters that the US was not dictating military terms and operational mandates to the Israeli military. Questioned about assuring the security of civilians, Kirby said the US was always looking to protect innocent civilians.
However, he would not commit to holding the Israeli military to that standard. Kirby said when asked about this, “We are not putting conditions on the military assistance that we are providing to Israel.”
Arab and Gulf states have been at the forefront of prompting the US to press Israel not to target civilians and to ensure that badly required humanitarian aid can get to Gazans.
Israel cut off water and electricity earlier in the week and called on the residents to vacate Gaza. Arab capitals and the UN pushed back and criticized the move. Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin thanked his Israeli counterpart on Monday for measures to restore safe drinking water access in Gaza.
Blinken said, “Israel has the right and indeed the duty to defend its people from Hamas and other terrorists and to prevent future attacks.”
He added that Biden will hear from Israel what it needs to defend his people as we continue to work with Congress to meet those needs.
The United States also assured assurances from Israel on working to get foreign aid into the impoverished and blockaded Gaza Strip as Israel prepares a ground offensive against the Hamas-ruled territory, Blinken said.
Biden expects to “hear from Israel how it will conduct its operations in a way that minimises civilian casualties and allows humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not benefit Hama,” Blinken said.
He added, “At our request, the United States and Israel have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza. The two sides were discussing the possibility of creating areas to help keep civilians out of harm’s way.”
