US national security council spokesman John Kirby said that the first tranche of a security aid package for Israel was already on the way while additional assistance would be announced soon. The US wanted to press ahead with diplomacy to normalize ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel after the Hamas attack, he said as US president Joe Biden confirmed that at least 11 American citizens had died, and “it is likely” that others were being held hostage by Hamas.
The chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, General Charles Q. Brown Jr., warned Iran to “not get involved” in the conflict, the Financial Times reported.
“We want to send a pretty strong message,” he said while en route to a meeting in Brussels to discuss Ukraine, adding, “We do not want this to broaden, and the idea is for Iran to get that message loud and clear.”
This comes as the US is sending the USS Gerald R. Ford carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean to bolster deterrence efforts. This includes an aircraft carrier, a guided missile cruiser and guided missile destroyers.
Read more: These airlines have suspended Israel flights amid Gaza war: Full list
Israeli forces carried out strikes in the Gaza Strip from the air and the sea and the top US general warned Iran to stay out of the fight. The attacks on Israel by Hamas have killed more than 900 Israelis, mostly civilians. At least 600 Palestinians have also died. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the response had “only started,” and “what we will do to the enemy will echo down through generations.”
{{/usCountry}}Israeli forces carried out strikes in the Gaza Strip from the air and the sea and the top US general warned Iran to stay out of the fight. The attacks on Israel by Hamas have killed more than 900 Israelis, mostly civilians. At least 600 Palestinians have also died. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the response had “only started,” and “what we will do to the enemy will echo down through generations.”
{{/usCountry}}The leaders of the US, Germany, France, Italy and the UK spoke in a call after which they released a statement that renewed their support for Israel and condemned Hamas “and its appalling acts of terrorism.”
“Our countries will support Israel in its efforts to defend itself and its people against such atrocities,” Hoe Biden along with UK prime minister Rishi Sunak, French president Emmanuel Macron, Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni and German chancellor Olaf Scholz said in the statement.
“We further emphasize that this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage," they said.