BI News, Agencies : Amid Tel Aviv-Hamas conflict spiraling into a broader regional conflagration, the US President Biden plans to visit Israel on Wednesday. Secretary of State Antony J Blinken announced this decision in Jerusalem, setting up a high-stakes trip in which the American leader will try to forestall a worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza while also preventing the war between Israel and Hamas from spreading. Biden’s visit underscores the U.S.’s commitment to Israel, with the administration pledging military assistance and seeking congressional approval for additional aid to both Israel and Ukraine. The announcement follows extensive talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials.
Biden will also visit Jordan, where he plans to meet with Jordanian King Abdullah II, Egyptian President Abdel Fatah El-Sisi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which has endured Israeli airstrikes that have killed more than 2,700 Palestinians.
Hamas has taken scores of hostages into Gaza, including an unknown number of Americans. Biden will work to get as much information about the hostage situation as possible during his trip, White House spokesman John Kirby said in a briefing with reporters.
Kirby emphasized that the United States had not sought assurances that Israel would not launch its ground invasion while Biden was visiting the country. “We’re not dictating terms or operational directions to the Israelis,” Kirby said. “We don’t want to see escalation. We want to make sure humanitarian assistance begins to flow.”
Still, U.S. officials waited to announce Biden’s travel to Israel on Monday night until they received commitments from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a humanitarian package, according to two US officials familiar with the discussions. Secretary of State Antony Blinken received assurances during a marathon meeting in Tel Aviv this week and then made the announcement that Biden would be visiting.
During the 7½-hour meeting, Israeli and U.S. officials set up separate rooms and passed papers between the two sides, negotiating over humanitarian issues including getting aid into Gaza and creating safe zones for Palestinian civilians, said a State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe sensitive discussions.
Though Blinken hailed an agreement on humanitarian issues, his announcement included few details, probably an indication that differences remain between the two allies. The provision of humanitarian aid is sensitive in Israel, especially among far-right politicians tied to Netanyahu who have pressed him to wage a scorched-earth campaign in Gaza in response to the terrorist attack.
The White House is deeply concerned about the conflict spiraling into a broader regional conflagration, and Biden has warned other actors, particularly Iran, not to jump in. His visit to Israel could underline that message.
Officials are also worried that anger in Arab countries, where many citizens have deep sympathy for the Palestinian cause, could boil over and create pressure for their leaders to take action against Israel.
Biden spoke with Sisi on Monday, the White House said, and the two discussed “ongoing efforts to alleviate the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza, in coordination with the U.N., Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Israel, and other regional partners.”
