Israel carried out fresh airstrikes Thursday in the Gaza Strip, as British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak traveled to Israel with a message of support following a visit by U.S. President Joe Biden.
“You have suffered an unspeakable, horrific act of terrorism and I want you to know that the United Kingdom and I stand with you," Sunak said.
Biden said after his brief visit to Tel Aviv Wednesday that he had candid discussions with Israeli leaders as they conduct military strikes that have taken more than 3,400 lives in Gaza in response to Hamas’ massacre of more than 1,400 Israelis on October 7.
“I was very blunt with the Israelis,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One. Biden said that while Israel “has been badly victimized,” the country has “an opportunity to relieve the suffering” of innocent civilians in Gaza “who have nowhere to go.”
He added that it’s what the country “should do.”
Biden said Egypt has agreed to open its Rafah border with Gaza to initially allow 20 trucks of aid to be received and managed by U.N. groups. He warned that if Hamas blocks or confiscates the aid, “it's going to end.”
Biden said the trucks would likely cross on Friday after badly damaged roads near the crossing have been repaired. Dozens more trucks are waiting to follow if the first tranche goes smoothly. He also announced $100 million in U.S. aid for Palestinians.
The humanitarian crisis has grown increasingly dire in Gaza, with Israel blocking basic necessities from reaching the territory.
Biden denied media reports that U.S. troops will join Israeli soldiers in fighting Hezbollah should the Lebanon-based militant group decide to help Hamas and initiate conflict with Israel.
He said he discussed at length with Netanyahu the prime minister’s plans to invade Gaza to root out Hamas and that the two countries’ militaries have been weighing alternatives. But he declined to provide further details.
Biden is scheduled to address the nation Thursday night on the Israel-Hamas violence and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Siding with Israel
Biden on Wednesday backed Israel’s account of who was responsible for a massive explosion at a Gaza hospital that killed hundreds and prompted protests across the region.
“Based on the information we've seen to date, it appears as a result of an errant rocket fired by a terrorist group in Gaza,” Biden said.
Israel said the rocket came from the militant group Palestinian Islamic Jihad, which denied responsibility.
“While we continue to collect information, our current assessment, based on analysis of overhead imagery, intercepts and open-source information, is that Israel is not responsible for the explosion at the hospital in Gaza yesterday,” National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said.
Watson added that the administration is working to corroborate whether it was a failed rocket launched by Islamic Jihad.
Biden vowed to provide Israel what it needs to defend itself but urged restraint in its retaliation.
“You don't live by the rules of terrorists. You live by the rule of law. When conflict is fair, you live by the rule of law, of wars,” he said.
From Tel Aviv, Biden was originally scheduled to visit Amman, Jordan, to meet King Abdullah II, President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi of Egypt and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss a humanitarian response for Gazans. But the summit — and the Jordan leg of the trip — was scrapped following the Gaza hospital blast.
The explosion has ignited massive protests in cities across the Middle East, including in Lebanon, Iran, Tunisia and Turkey, where demonstrators laid the blame on Israel.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
