US president Joe Biden is to travel to Israel on Wednesday as the US said it was working on a plan to facilitate aid reaching Gaza and to establish safe areas for civilians.
Israel strikes on the Gaza Strip intensified in advance of an expected ground incursion, as the war entered its 11th day.
The White House said on Monday night that Mr Biden would be making the visit to “demonstrate his steadfast support for Israel”.
It said the president would also travel to Jordan where he would meet regional leaders including King Abdullah, Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the leader of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas.
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“He will reiterate that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination and discuss the humanitarian needs of civilians in Gaza.”
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US secretary of state Antony Blinken said on Monday night following talks with the Israeli cabinet that president Biden’s visit on Wednesday would come “at a critical time for the region and the world”.
He said the president would “reaffirm the United States’ solidarity with Israel and our ironclad commitment to its security”.
Mr Blinken said the president would again make clear “that Israel has the right and duty to defend its people from Hamas and other terrorists and to prevent future attacks”.
The secretary of state said Mr Biden would hear from Israel on what it needed to defend its people.
Mr Blinken said the president would underscore his message to both state and non-state actors that they should not try to take advantage of the current situation to attack Israel. He said that “to that end he has deployed two aircraft carrier groups and other military assets to the region”.
He added the president would continue to co-ordinate closely with Israel to secure the release of hostages taken by Hamas.
The president would “receive comprehensive brief on Israel’s war aims and strategy” and would hear how it would conduct its operations to minimise civilian casualties and enable humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza in a way that did not assist Hamas, said Mr Blinken.
Mr Blinken said that on Monday at the request of Washington “the US and Israel had agreed to develop a plan to enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multinational organisations to reach civilians in Gaza and them alone”.
He said this would “include the possibility of creating areas to help keep civilians out of harm’s way”.
It is critical that aid should begin to reach Gaza as soon as possible, said Mr Blinken. “We share Israel’s concern that Hamas may seize or destroy aid entering Gaza or otherwise prevent it from reaching the people who need it.
“If Hamas in any way blocks humanitarian assistance from reaching civilians, including by seizing the aid itself, we’ll be the first to condemn it. And we will work to prevent it from happening again.”
Meanwhile, Ireland is set to stress the importance of opening a humanitarian corridor to Gaza as EU leaders convene over video conference to discuss how to prevent conflict spreading in the region, and how the fighting may affect Europe.
