Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday pledged that the United States will never falter from its support for Israel as he condemned Hamas’ “litany of brutality and inhumanity” as evoking “the worst of ISIS.”
“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,” Blinken said in remarks alongside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. “We will always be there by your side.”
The top US diplomat’s trip to Israel, days after Hamas’ deadly attacks in Israel, is another show of support as the Biden administration seeks to bolster the country’s defenses and stop the conflict from expanding or spreading. The visit also comes as the US seeks to help secure the release of hostages, including American citizens, held by Hamas and as the death toll, both as a result of Hamas’ attacks and Israeli strikes in Gaza, continues to grow.
“Tragically, the number of innocent lives claimed by Hamas’ heinous attacks continues to rise. Among those, we now know that at least 25 American citizens were killed,” Blinken said.
The US been “adamant” with other nations about the need to unequivocally condemn Hamas’ attacks, the top US diplomat said, cataloging the horrors committed by the terrorist group: “babies slaughtered, bodies desecrated, young people burned alive, women raped, parents executed in front of their children, children in front of their parents.”
“I understand on a personal level, the harrowing echoes that Hamas’ massacres carry for Israeli Jews, indeed, for Jews everywhere,” Blinken noted, describing his own identity as both a father and Jew.
“There is no excuse. There is no justification for these atrocities,” he said. “This is – this must be – a moment for moral clarity.”
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