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President Joe Biden will travel to Israel Wednesday to show that he stands with the nation after it was attacked by Hamas, the White House announced Monday. The president will then visit Jordan.
Biden’s trip to Israel is “to demonstrate his steadfast support for Israel in the face of Hamas’s brutal terrorist attack and to consult on next steps,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Biden will also meet with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman.
The visit comes as Israel appears to be preparing for a ground attack on Gaza following the Oct. 7 surprise attack by Hamas. Israel has already been conducting air strikes in Gaza and has told civilians to evacuate to southern Gaza.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed and more than 2,800 people have been killed, according to officials in both regions. The U.N. and other groups have warned of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Frustrated Palestinian Americans are among the people trapped there.
About 2,000 U.S. troops have been told to prepare for deployment in response to Israel-Hamas war, which does not necessarily mean they would be sent to Israel or Gaza — they would most likely be sent to a neighboring country, a U.S. official said.
In the U.S., friends and relatives remembered a 6-year-old Palestinian American boy who was fatally stabbed in Illinois in what police said was a targeted attack related to the conflict. Joseph Czuba, 71, was arrested and charged in Saturday’s deadly attack.
Palestinians report heavy shelling where Israel ordered civilians to take refuge
Palestinians in Gaza reported intense bombardments near the southern towns of Khan Younis and Rafah, where Israel ordered civilians to seek refuge, early Tuesday. Details of causalities were not immediately available.
Israeli bombs hit areas west and southeast of Khan Younis and west of Rafah, according to local reports.
Thousands of people trying to escape Gaza are gathered in Rafah, which contains the territory’s only border crossing to Egypt, as international mediators press for a deal to allow aid in and refugees with foreign passports out.
A couple who survived the Hamas terrorist attack at an Israeli music festival said Hamas acted with “precision” and “no mercy.”
How the U.S.- Israel agreement on aid came together
In every stop he made after his trip to Israel last week, Arab leaders told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the U.S. must do something to solve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, a senior State Department official said.
When Blinken called Biden after his meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi to relay their message, Biden asked his top diplomat to go back to Tel Aviv to work out a plan, the official said.
What followed was nine hours of negotiations between the U.S. and Israel, the senior State Department official said, as the two sides hashed out the details of the plan.
Today Blinken announced that the U.S. and Israel “have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza — and them alone.” The plan could also include creating areas to keep civilians safe, he said.
During the discussions about the agreement, Blinken and the U.S. delegation set up next to the Israel prime minister’s Cabinet meeting. Every so often Netanyahu would go over, and the two sides would exchange papers, the senior State Department official said.
Blinken also reiterated to Israel’s president today that every Arab leader he met with in the region expressed the importance of dealing with the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the official said.
Breaking down Israel’s political and economic relationship with its neighbors
The war highlights Israel's fragile relationships in a region that was once nearly unified in its rejection of it as a sovereign state but that today has seen some neighbors embrace it as a key economic engine.
Israel has a reliable working relationship with Jordan to its east, while its interactions with Syria and Lebanon, northern foes in past wars, are icy at best. Iran remains a mortal enemy, and the question of its involvement in the Hamas attack, or lack thereof, could be the difference between expanded warfare or quelling it.
The Abraham Accords under President Donald Trump have increased Israel's trade while sparking hope of normal relations with Saudi Arabia, a goal that could also depend on the war's path and outcome.
IDF official doubts Biden visit will affect military timing
ISRAEL-GAZA BORDER — A spokesman for the Israel Defense Forces said tonight that he does not know whether President Biden’s visit to Israel will affect its military actions in Gaza.
“I don’t think so, but we will have to see, and we probably will have more information tomorrow morning,” Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus said in response to a question in a briefing on X.
“But I don’t think that the aim of that visit is to hinder at all,” he said.
Issues Conricus mentioned include the need to prevent a regional escalation and a U.S. show of support and commitment to Israel.
FBI warns of growing threats in the U.S.
The FBI is seeing an increase in reported threats against both Jewish and Muslim Americans. Local law enforcement is working to keep these communities safe.
U.S., Israel agree to develop plan to get humanitarian aid to Gazans
The U.S. and Israel “have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid” from donor nations and groups to reach civilians in Gaza, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today.
The U.N. and the World Health Organization have warned of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which Israel is blockading and striking by air after Hamas launched unprecedented terrorist attacks on the country.
Biden is traveling to Israel on Wednesday and “will hear from Israel how it will conduct its operations in a way that minimizes civilian casualties and enables humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza, in a way that does not benefit Hamas,” Blinken said.
Biden will also be briefed about Israel's war aims, Blinken said. Netanyahu has vowed to crush Hamas.
Biden will also travel to Jordan
Biden will stop in Jordan during his trip to Israel this week, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.
Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said tonight.
The president will stop in Jordan to meet with King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sissi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, Kirby said.
Biden will reiterate that Hamas does not represent the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination, and he will discuss the humanitarian needs of the people of Gaza, Kirby said.
The haunting stories from those living in the war zone
Students, doctors, mothers and residents describe what life is like in Gaza and Israel as the attacks continue.
New York's governor headed to Israel
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said she's headed to Israel tomorrow to support the country, meet with diplomatic leaders and survey suffering communities.
Her announcement came the same day Biden's plan to visit Israel was announced.
“During these difficult times, it’s more important than ever for New York to show up in support of Israel," Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement.
About 1 in 5 of the U.S.' estimated 7.6 million Jews live in New York state, according to a Brandeis University analysis in 2021.
"New York will show the world that we stand with Israel — today, tomorrow and forever," Hochul said.
