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Joe Biden may visit Israel soon as Gaza invasion looms
Biden backs Israel but warns against occupying Gaza again.
President Joe Biden may visit Israel soon, even as the country prepares for a possible ground invasion of Gaza.
According to an anonymous senior administration official speaking to the Associated Press on Sunday, the US President has not disclosed any official travel arrangements to Israel, which is currently in its second week of conflict with Hamas.
Biden has been a staunch supporter of Israel since the unexpected attack by Hamas on October 7, resulting in over 1,400 casualties, including at least 30 Americans.
But he has also tried to restrain Israel from escalating the conflict by reoccupying Gaza.
“I think it’d be a big mistake,” Biden said in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes that aired Sunday.
“Look, what happened in Gaza, in my view, is 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 president and his administration have avoided criticizing Israel or its relentless bombing campaign that has killed hundreds of civilians, including women and children, in Gaza.
On Friday, Israel issued a 24-hour evacuation notice to one million residents in the northern region of the Gaza Strip in anticipation of an impending assault on the area.
A tragic incident unfolded as at least 70 Palestinians lost their lives, and another 200 were left injured during an airstrike while attempting to comply with the evacuation orders. Israel has denied responsibility for this attack, adding to the toll of the ongoing conflict, which has claimed the lives of at least 2,400 Palestinians thus far.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been on a diplomatic mission throughout the Middle East in the past week, working diligently to prevent the conflict with Hamas from escalating into a broader regional crisis.
Blinken emphasized Israel's legitimate right to defend itself against Hamas attacks while urging a cautious approach that considers the well-being of civilian lives in their counteroffensive operations.
“I’m confident that Israel is going to act under the rules of war,” Biden said on 60 Minutes.
”There’s standards that democratic institutions and countries go by,” he said.
“And I’m confident that there’s going to be an ability for the innocents in Gaza to be able to have access to medicine and food and water.”
The White House also appointed David Satterfield, a former ambassador to Lebanon and Turkey, to lead US efforts to get humanitarian assistance to “vulnerable people through the Middle East.” Satterfield was expected to arrive in Israel on Monday.
