Biden vows US resolve to back Israel as USS Ford enters region
President Joe Biden on Tuesday
condemned the militant group Hamas for “sheer evil” for its shocking
multipronged attack on Israel launched from the Gaza Strip that has killed
hundreds of civilians, including at least 14 American citizens.
Biden and Vice President
Kamala Harris spoke by phone earlier on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the situation on the ground. Biden spoke of
the actions he and other allies have taken to support Israel in the aftermath
of the attack and expressed his horror about “sickening” reports of torture
inflicted by militants on innocent civilians.
Our hearts may be broken, but
our resolve is clear,” Biden said. He added, “Let there be no doubt. The United
States has Israel’s back. We’ll make sure the Jewish and democratic state of
Israel can defend itself today and tomorrow as we always have.”
Biden, in his public remarks
and statements since Hamas launched its attacks, has repeatedly emphasized his
shock over the breadth and brutality of the Hamas assault — a blitz by land,
sea, and air that surprised Israeli and U.S. intelligence and that has killed
hundreds of Israelis and left even more wounded.
Retaliatory strikes by Israel
on the Gaza Strip have also left hundreds of dead and wounded Palestinians in
the blockaded 141-square-mile area, one of the poorest places in the world. The
death toll was expected to grow as Israel pummeled Gaza with airstrikes and
sent tens of thousands of Palestinians fleeing into U.N. shelters.
Biden said he has directed his
team to share intelligence and military experts to consult and advise Israelis.
He also confirmed that the U.S. believes that Americans are among the dozens of
hostages taken by Hamas.
“As president, I have no higher
priority than the safety of Americans being held hostage around the world,”
Biden said.
The White House on Monday
confirmed that it has already begun delivering critically needed munitions and
military equipment to Israel, and the Pentagon was reviewing its inventories to
see what else can be sent quickly to boost its ally in the war against Hamas.
The Ford carrier strike group
has arrived in the far Eastern Mediterranean, within range to provide a host of
air support or long-range strike options for Israel if requested, but also to
surge U.S. military presence there to prevent the war from spilling over into a
more dangerous regional conflict, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.
The official spoke on the
condition of anonymity to discuss the arrival ahead of an announcement.
The Pentagon has said that the
U.S. warplanes, destroyers, and cruisers that sailed with the Ford will conduct
maritime and air operations, which could include intelligence collection,
interdictions, and long-range strikes.
Along with the Ford, the U.S.
is sending the cruiser USS Normandy and destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS
Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt, and the U.S. is augmenting Air Force
F-35, F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter aircraft squadrons in the region.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
told reporters traveling with him Tuesday to a Ukraine contact group meeting in
Brussels that a small group of U.S. special operations forces is also working
with the Israelis to help with planning and intelligence.
Biden on Monday in a joint
statement with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz,
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak
underscored the “legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people” and their
decades-long push for sovereignty. But the leaders also sought to separate the
Palestinians’ aspirations from the “appalling acts of terrorism” by Hamas.
Americans have had a gloomy
outlook on Biden’s performance on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Six in 10
Americans (61%) disapproved of how Biden was handling the conflict between the
Israelis and Palestinians, according to an August poll from The Associated
Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. About one-third (35%) of U.S.
adults approved, which was slightly lower than Biden’s overall approval rating
of 42% in the same poll.
Four in 10 Americans (44%)
said the U.S. gives about the right amount of support to Israel in the conflict
between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Republicans were more likely than
Democrats to say the U.S. should offer more support to Israel. Four in 10
Americans (42%) said the correct amount of support is given to the
Palestinians. Democrats and Independents were more likely than Republicans to
say the Palestinians should receive more support.
The Biden White House has
pointed to its handling of the last conflict between Israel and Gaza in 2021 as
playing a crucial part in limiting the length and loss of life in a war that
stretched over 11 days and killed at least 250 people in Gaza and 13 in Israel.
During the 2021 conflict,
Biden limited his public commentary while pressing Netanyahu in private to end
the conflict. His behind-the-scenes effort played out even as some of the
president’s fellow Democrats pressured him to speak out against the Israelis as
the death toll climbed in Gaza and as tens of thousands of Palestinians were
displaced by the aerial bombardment, White House officials said at the time.
But this conflict is unlikely
to end so quickly. Domestic and international pressure could quickly mount on
Biden to pressure Netanyahu to wind down operations to prevent the suffering of
innocent Gazans.
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