From the Liveblog of
Monday, October 16, 2023
Biden will make wartime visit to Israel on Wednesday, Blinken announces
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announces in a press statement after holding a roughly eight-hour meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet at the IDF’s Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv.
“He’s coming here at a critical moment for Israel, for the region and for the world,” Blinken says.
The secretary says Biden during the trip will reaffirm US solidarity with Israel and Washington’s commitment to Jerusalem’s security; he will condemn Hamas’s October 7 onslaught, which killed 1,400 people, including 30 Americans; he will assert Israel’s “obligation” to defend itself and prevent future attacks; he will hear from Israel what it needs to defend itself; he will warn any state or non-state actors against joining Hamas in fighting Israel; he will continue coordination with Israel to ensure the release of the 200 to 250 hostages in Gaza; he will hear from Israel on how it will conduct its military operations in a way that minimize civilian casualties and enable access in Gaza to humanitarian aid in a manner that doesn’t benefit Hamas.
