United States President Joe Biden expressed full support for Israel on Tuesday and will ask Congress to take urgent action to ease tensions in the Middle East after Hamas militants attacked Israel over the weekend, killing more than 1,000. people, including at least 14 Americans. As VOA correspondent Anita Powell reports, analysts say the possibility of Americans being held hostage by the Palestinian militant group complicates the situation.
President Joe Biden didn’t mince words to describe the shock and horror of Hamas’s surprise weekend attack on Israel.
“This is an act of pure evil. More than 1000 civilians were massacred, they were not killed, but they were massacred in Israel. Among them, at least 14 American citizens were killed. Parents have been killed while using their bodies to try to protect their children. There are disgusting reports of babies being killed. Entire families lost,” said the president of the United States, Joe Biden.
He also clarified Washington’s position on Israel’s counteroffensive.
“We support Israel and we will make sure that Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, to defend itself and to respond to this attack. There is no justification for terrorism,” said President Biden.
For this purpose, he said, the US has sent an aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean, near Israel.
The president also says he will ask Congress, once a new speaker of the House of Representatives is elected, to “take urgent action to financially meet the national security requirements of our important partners.”
Analysts say the massacre has sparked outrage at the White House, which was lit up in Israel’s colors after the tragedy.
“There could be Americans captured by a terrorist group, and that should be a priority for any American president. The second issue is the death of Americans in a terrorist attack in Israel. Add to this the fact that the region is in a very difficult situation and this includes not only Israel and Hamas, but the possibility of Hezbollah and Iran being involved. So President Biden is trying to deal with all of these issues,” says Daniel Byman, a fellow at the Transnational Threats Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
VOA asked the White House if Mr. Biden asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to show restraint in Israel’s military response.
“No one wants to see the loss of innocent lives. One of the best things about our relationship with Israel is that we are two democracies and we believe in respect for innocent life and the rule of law. We are always stronger together when we show the world that we respect innocent lives and that we respect not only the rule of law, but also the law of war,” said John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council.
Opponents of the US were quick to name the culprit.
“Unfortunately, we can see a worsening of the situation in the Middle East. I think many will agree with me that this is a clear example of the failure of the policy of the United States in the Middle East, which tried to monopolize the resolution of the conflict, but, unfortunately, did not care about finding compromises acceptable to both sides”, says the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin.
Mr Kirby says the conflict in Israel will not distract Washington from other threats, wherever they may be.
“Any nation that might think that somehow the United States will be distracted from the situation in Israel is mistaken. We are a big enough, powerful, economically stable country to take care of our national security interests and those of our allies and partners around the world,” says Mr. Kirby.
President Biden also made it clear that he will not leave Israel.