Biden to visit Israel as war with Hamas continues, Blinken says

More than 4,000 people have been killed in war and over a million have fled their homes in Gaza

President Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced early on Tuesday morning from Tel Aviv.

Mr Biden’s visit will bring immense logistical and security challenges as the president enters an active war zone in a conflict that has killed more than 4,000 Israelis and Palestinians and displaced over 1 million people from Gaza.

It will include meetings with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as a stop the same day in Amman, Jordan, for discussions with King Abdullah, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, and President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority, which partially governs the West Bank, according to the White House.

“The President will reaffirm our solidarity with Israel and he will look forward to getting an update from Israeli officials about their strategy and the pace of their military operations,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday.

“He will certainly reiterate that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination,” Mr Kirby added. “And he’ll discuss again the humanitarian needs of all civilians in Gaza.”

Mr Biden has repeatedly voiced strong support for Israel since the outbreak of war earlier this month.

“The United States stands with Israel,” Mr Biden said the day Hamas launched a brutal surprise attack on Israel. “We will never fail to have their back. We’ll make sure they have the help their citizens need and they can continue to defend themselves.”

The president added the attacks were “unconscionable” and a “terrible tragedy on a human level.”

In recent days, as the Israeli bombardment on the blockaded Palestinian enclave has killed and displaced numerous civilians, Mr Biden has also warned the US ally of re-occupying the Gaza Strip.

“I think it’d be a big mistake,” he told 60 Minutes in a recent interview. “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.”

The World Health Organization has warned that Gaza is less than 24 hours away from a humanitarian “catastrophe,” as food, water, fuel and medical capacity dwindles.

Israel’s defence minister vowed to impose a “full siege” on Gaza, about half of whose population is under the age of 18.

“I ordered a full siege on the Gaza Strip,” Yoav Gallant has said of the IDF strategy. “No power, no food, no gas, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we act accordingly.”

On Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Congress would attempt to fast-track a military aid package to Israel, adding to the billions of yearly security aid the US already provides.

Andrew Feinberg contributed reporting to this story.