President Joe Biden on Saturday decried the “unconscionable" assault by Hamas militants and his administration pledged to ensure Israel has “what it needs to defend itself” after the surprise attack that drew worldwide condemnation and anger from Israel's allies, reports UNB.
Biden said from the White House that he told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States “stands with the people of Israel in the face of these terrorist assaults. Israel has the right to defend itself and its people, full stop. There’s never a justification for terrorist attacks and my administration’s support for Israeli security is rock solid and unwavering.’’
The president also warned Israeli's enemies that "this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage. The world is watching.”
Biden said he would keep in close touch with Netanyahu and had called Jordan's King Abdullah II and members of Congress to discuss the situation.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken was at the White House for meetings and spoke to Israel's president and foreign minister, while Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israel's defense minister. The Pentagon chief said the U.S. was committed to helping Israel to “protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism” and with its defense needs.
Hamas' unprecedented incursion, which Biden noted came not long after Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, was the deadliest attack in Israel in years and was threatening to spiral into a broader conflict. Israel retaliated with airstrikes in Gaza. “We are at war,” Netanyahu said.
Biden said the people of Israel were “under attack orchestrated by a terrorist organization" and that "in this moment of tragedy, I want to say to them and to the world and to terrorists everywhere, the United States stands with Israel. We will not ever fail to have their back. We’ll make sure that they have the help their citizens need and they can continue to defend themselves.”
He said ``the world has seen appalling images -- thousands of rockets in the space of hours raining down on Israel cities” and that Hamas had killed not just Israeli soldiers but also Israeli civilians – “in the street, in their homes, innocent people murdered and wounded, entire families taken hostage by Hamas just days after Israel marked the holiest of days in the Jewish calendar. It’s unconscionable.’’
The hostilities dealt a significant blow to U.S. efforts to expand the Arab-Israeli Abraham Accords normalization agreements, not only with Saudi Arabia, which has commanded most of the public attention but also with smaller Arab states.
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
