U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a news conference at the State Department on Aug. 15, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch, Getty Images/TNS)
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is flying to Israel on Wednesday in a show of support for the country as it begins a major offensive campaign in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip in response to a wave of deadly cross-border attacks by the militant group.
The top U.S. diplomat is expected to meet with senior Israeli officials to receive an update on the security situation and inquire what else the United States can provide to Israel as it works to regain control of its border, free hostages and destroy Hamas’s operational capacity following the surprise attacks by gunmen who inflicted the bloodiest day in Israel’s 75-year history.
“It will be a message of solidarity and support,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in describing the thrust of the trip.
Since the Hamas invasion on Saturday morning and massacre of Israeli civilians, Blinken has made a flurry of calls with his counterparts in the Middle East in an effort to have U.S. allies and partners send a clear message to Iran, Hezbollah and Palestinians in the West Bank to refrain from entering the conflict.
“We’ve been on the phones throughout our government over the last 24 hours, engaging everyone in the region and well beyond,” Blinken told CNN on Sunday, “both to make sure that there is support for Israel and that every country is using every effort to pull Hamas back and to prevent this from escalating.”
Israeli officials have made several specific requests to Washington in response to the military offensive by Hamas, including a replenishment of Iron Dome ground-to-air missile interceptors, small-diameter bombs, ammunition for machine guns and heightened cooperation on intelligence-sharing particularly in southern Lebanon, according to U.S. officials familiar with the requests.
“President Biden’s direction was to make sure that we’re providing Israel everything it needs in this moment to deal with the attacks from Hamas,” Blinken said.
The Pentagon has sent the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS Normandy, and four destroyers to the eastern Mediterranean. It has also sent munitions to Israel.
Blinken will “talk about what additional resources we can give them,” Miller told reporters.
The secretary of state has repeatedly defended Israel’s right to defend itself amid calls by the United Nations and others to reduce tensions and deescalate the situation. The State Department deleted a message on social media over the weekend that urged all sides “to refrain from violence and retaliatory attacks.”
“The world should be revolted at what it’s seen,” Blinken told ABC News.
On Tuesday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said 20 Americans were missing but it was unclear how many were taken hostage. Biden has instructed officials to share intelligence and deploy a team of hostage experts to Israel to assist with the response. Biden said that 14 Americans are among the dead.
“My heart goes out to every family impacted by the horrible events of the past few days,” Biden said. “The pain these families have endured, the enormity of their loss, and the agony of those still awaiting information is unfathomable.”
