From 3h ago
Biden opened his remarks by saying that the attacks were done by “the bloody hands of the terrorist organization Hamas.”
“This was an act of sheer evil”, said Biden, adding that more than 1,000 civilians were “slaughtered” in Israel.
Biden confirmed that at 14 American citizens were killed. He also said Americans were among the hostages in Gaza.
Biden added: “In this moment, we must be crystal clear. We stand with Israel. We stand with Israel.”
It’s been a tense day in Washington, the terrible conflict in Israel casting a shadow over national politics, and House Republicans getting ready to try to elect a new speaker – a gap in Congress made to look ever more gaping by the Middle East tumult.
This blog is closing now. It will resume on Wednesday morning US time. The Israel-Gaza global live blog continues here.
Here’s how the day went:
The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, will travel to Israel on Wednesday, arriving Thursday, to meet with Israeli officials show US solidarity following attacks from Hamas.
At least 20 Americans are missing in Israel amid ongoing fighting, in addition to the 14 Americans known to have been killed so far, according to the White House.
Joe Biden confirmed that Americans are among the people being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas militants.
Biden called the attacks by Hamas on southern Israel an act of “sheer evil” and reiterated in a speech from the White House that “we stand with Israel”.
The special counsel for the federal January 6 election subversion case against Donald Trump has requested that the former president be restricted from doing juror research and publishing the identities of jurors in the case.
The special counsel also filed a request asking that Donald Trump be required to say if he will advance an “advice of counsel” defense.
House Republicans supporting Kevin McCarthy plan to nominate the former House speaker, who was ousted from the post just days ago, for the position again during the upcoming election on Wednesday.
Republicans are under pressure to elect a new House speaker ASAP this week, amid the Hamas-Israel crisis reverberating across the globe.
Until last weekend, the Biden administration was counting on the Middle East to remain relatively calm while it quietly pursued its main policy goals there: brokering the Israeli-Saudi detente and containing Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Reuters writes.
Those hopes were shattered when Palestinian Hamas militants infiltrated Israel from Gaza and rampaged through towns on Saturday, killing hundreds and abducting scores more. Israeli forces have retaliated by pounding the coastal enclave, killing hundreds and imposing a total blockade there.
After keeping the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict at arm’s length, Joe Biden now finds himself thrust into a crisis likely to reshape his Middle East policy, and into an uneasy alliance with the far-right Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. He is dispatching the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, to meet with Israeli leaders this week.
It is a politically risky situation for a president seeking re-election in 2024, one that could have significant implications for world oil prices and pull US resources and attention away from what until now has been his defining foreign policy challenge – Russia’s war in Ukraine.
The surprise Hamas attack has dealt a blow to US efforts to broker a landmark normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia and complicated Washington’s approach toward Iran, Hamas’s longtime benefactor.
While US officials insist that their bid to establish ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia, longtime foes, can survive the crisis, many experts take a more pessimistic view.
Quite simply, all efforts at normalization are on hold for the foreseeable future,” said Jon Alterman, head of the Middle East program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, contradicting the official US government line.
Khaled Elgindy, a former Palestinian negotiations adviser, accused the Biden administration of leading an Israeli-Saudi normalization process that mostly bypassed the Palestinians and their hopes of ending Israeli occupation.
That sort of neglect is part of why we’re seeing what we’re seeing,” he said.
Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, will travel to Israel this week to show US solidarity following attacks from Hamas, the Associated Press reports.
The state department confirmed Blinken’s visit on Tuesday.
Blinken will talk with Israeli officials about “what additional resources we can give them”, said the state department spokesperson Matthew Miller, the AP reported.
Blinken will leave for Israel on Wednesday and arrive on Thursday.
At least 20 Americans are missing in Israel amid ongoing fighting, according to National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
14 Americans have also been killed in Israel, in addition to the 20 who are unaccounted for.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, Sullivan confirmed that more than a dozen Americans have not been accounted for as fighting escalates between Israel and Hamas.
“We believe that there are 20 or more Americans that are missing. I want to underscore that does not mean 20 or more are being held hostage. That is the number unaccounted for… We do not know how many hostages we have at this time,” said Sullivan, reported the Guardian’s David Smith.
Biden ended his remarks with a stark message of support for Israel:
“We’re with Israel. Let’s make no mistake.”
Biden, accompanied by Vice president Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony, left without taking any questions from the press.
Biden added that the police departments of several US cities have beefed up security around centers of Jewish life.
Biden added that national security officials are working to identify and disrupt domestic threats that “could emerge in connection with these horrific attacks”.
Biden added: “There’s no place for hate in America, not against Jews, not against Muslims, not against anyone.”
Biden also confirmed that Americans are among the people being held hostage in Gaza.
Similar news came on Monday from the Israeli ambassador to the UN.
From CNN’s Kaitlan Collins:
At least 100 people have been taken captive by Hamas, said Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen on Monday.
Biden has made it clear that the US is committed to supporting Israel materially.
“We will make sure Israel has what it needs,” said Biden.
Biden added: “There is no justification for terrorism. Hamas doesn’t stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity…they use Palestinian civilians as human shields.”
Biden also noted that Congress has been asked to “take urgent action” to fund the “national security requirements of our critical partners.”
Biden added that the “Israel has a duty to respond to these vicious attacks.”
Biden compared the actions of Hamas to the “worst acts” of the terrorist group ISIS, specifically naming reports that Hamas is raping individuals and killing children.
Biden opened his remarks by saying that the attacks were done by “the bloody hands of the terrorist organization Hamas.”
“This was an act of sheer evil”, said Biden, adding that more than 1,000 civilians were “slaughtered” in Israel.
Biden confirmed that at 14 American citizens were killed. He also said Americans were among the hostages in Gaza.
Biden added: “In this moment, we must be crystal clear. We stand with Israel. We stand with Israel.”
Biden posted a snapshot from his meeting with Netanyahu to X, formerly known as Twitter.
From the official President of the United States’ account:
[The Vice president] and I sat down with our teams to receive a situation update on the terrorist attack in Israel and to direct next steps.
We connected with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss coordination to support Israel, deter hostile actors, and protect innocent people.
Biden and Harris wrapped up a phone call about a half hour ago with Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss US support of Israel.
Biden is expected to give remarks shortly on escalating fighting in Israel.
From the Wall Street Journal’s Catherine Lucey:
Biden has yet to make remarks from the White House about escalating fighting between Israel and Hamas.
In other news, Republican Steve Garvey has entered the California Senate race.
The former Dodgers baseball player will be running for the Senate seat left by the late senator Dianne Feinstein, the Los Angeles Times reports.
“In those 20 years that I played for the Dodgers and the Padres, played up in cold Candlestick Park, I never played for Democrats or Republicans or independents,” Garvey said to the Times. “I played for all the fans, and I’m running for all the people.”
Garvey, 74, is a relative political newcomer, but brings some celebrity to the upcoming election.
Garvey told the Times he was inspired to run after witnessing dysfunction in Washington DC and being told by a Dodgers fan that they would vote for Garvey.
Garvey faces several top Democrats for the position, including California representatives Barbara Lee, Katie Porter, and Adam Schiff.
Joe Biden is due to make remarks from the White House at the top of the hour and it’s expected that the US president will slam Hamas and reiterate unswerving US support for Israel.
We’ll expect to have a live feed of his speech in this blog and will report highlights of his remarks. For all the wider developments in the conflict in Israel, we have our global blog on the situation running here, with our Léonie Chao-Fong at the helm at the moment as part of our worldwide team.
From the White House, Biden will express concern about the potential that some Americans are being held hostage by Hamas, an Iranian-backed Islamist group, a senior White House official said, and Reuters reports.
Israel pounded the Gaza Strip on Tuesday with the fiercest air strikes in its 75-year-old conflict with the Palestinians, razing whole districts to dust despite a threat from Hamas militants to execute a captive for each home hit.
Biden will speak after holding his third phone call in four days with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He will outline in his remarks the US military assistance being sent to help Israel in its fight, the official said.
A second White House official said Biden will strongly condemn Hamas* attacks and provide an overview of the actions the United States is taking with allies around the world to support Israel.
Source: US Politics - theguardian.com
