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Blinken in Israel: At least 25 Americans killed in ‘heinous’ Hamas attacks
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Thursday that at least 25 Americans were confirmed to be killed in the attacks on Israel by Hamas, a Palestinian militant group.
“Tragically, the number of innocent lives claimed by Hamas’s heinous attacks continues to rise,” Blinken said during a press conference in Israel, standing alongside Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Among those, we now know that at least 25 American citizens were killed.”
“We joined families in Israel in the United States around the world in mourning their immeasurable loss,” he added.
U.S. officials have been working with Israelis to secure the release of hostages, and Blinken noted he will continue to engage in diplomacy in his meetings throughout the region.
Military support from the U.S. has already arrived in Israel, he confirmed, pledging to continue adapting it to the needs of the country.
“As Israel’s defense needs evolve, we will work with Congress to make sure that they’re met,” he told Netanyahu. “And I can tell you, there is overwhelming, overwhelming bipartisan support in our Congress for Israel’s security.”
Netanyahu reached an agreement Wednesday with opposition leader Benny Gantz to form a unity government — which Blinken said the U.S. welcomes.
Blinken also reiterated President Biden’s message of unwavering support for Israel and echoed the president’s warning to neighboring nations.
“We will reaffirm the crystal-clear warning the President Biden issued yesterday to any adversary, state or nonstate, thinking of taking advantage of the current crisis to attack Israel: Don’t,” he said. “The United States has Israel’s back.”
Blinken delivered a personal appeal, noting his background as a Jew with family that fled pogroms in Europe and survived the Holocaust.
“I come before you, not only as the United States secretary of State, but also as a Jew,” he said during the press conference. “My grandfather, Maurice Blinken, fled pogroms in Russia. My stepfather, Samuel Pisar, survived concentration camps: Auschwitz, Dachau, Majdanek. So, prime minister, I understand, on a personal level, the harrowing echoes that Hamas’s massacres carry for Israeli Jews, indeed, for Jews everywhere.”
“I also come before you as a husband and father of young children. It’s impossible for me to look at the photos of families killed and not think of my own children,” Blinken continued. “This was just one of Hamas’s countless acts of terror.”
The secretary made the trip overseas less than a week after Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, brutalizing Israelis and attacking from the sea, air, and by foot. Israel has responded with a barrage of airstrikes.
More than 1,200 Israelis and 1,350 Palestinians have been killed since Saturday’s initial attack. More than 100 Israelis are also estimated to be held hostage in Gaza.
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Blinken, in Israel, says more Americans killed, vows solidarity ‘always’
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered a strong message of American solidarity in Israel on Thursday alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
At the joint news conference, Blinken said the number of Americans who have died since Hamas’ attack Saturday has now climbed to at least 25 U.S. citizens. He also reiterated the Biden administration’s sentiment that the U.S. stands with the Jewish state.
“The message that I bring to Israel is this: You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself, but as long as America exists, you will never, ever have to. We will always be there by your side,” Blinken said. “That’s the message that President Biden delivered to the prime minister from the moment this crisis began. It’s the message that I and my other colleagues in the government have delivered to our Israeli counterparts on a daily, even an hourly basis. It’s the message that I bring with me to our discussions today, and it’s what I’ll affirm, when I meet with the members of Israel’s newly formed national emergency government. We welcome the government’s creation and the unity and resolve that it reflects across Israel’s society.”
“I can tell you there is overwhelming – overwhelming – bipartisan support in our Congress for Israel’s security here in Israel and everywhere,” he added.
Netanyahu and Blinken also addressed the threat of Hamas, with the Israeli leader likening them to ISIS.
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“Hamas is ISIS,” Netanyahu said. “And just as ISIS was crushed, so too will Hamas be crushed and Hamas should be treated exactly the way ISIS was treated. They should be spit out from the community of nations. No leaders should meet them. No country should harbor them. And those that do should be sanctioned.”
“This was just one of Hamas’s countless acts of terror in a litany of brutality and inhumanity. That, yes, brings to mind the worst of ISIS,” Blinken added. “Babies slaughtered, bodies desecrated, young people burned alive, women raped, the parents executed in front of their children, children in front of their parents. How are we even to understand this?”
Netanyahu described Blinken’s visit as “another tangible example of America’s unequivocal support for Israel.”
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