Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited US President Joe Biden to his country this week for a solidarity visit as the IDF prepares a massive ground invasion of Gaza.
Biden would be the first head of state to visit Israel since the Iran-backed Hamas terror attack last Saturday that killed 1,400 Israelis and plunged the nation and its unfriendly neighbor back into war.
Joe Biden’s office did not immediately confirm the invitation or issue a response.
Netanyahu said he held his fifth phone call with Biden since the outbreak of the war that has only escalated since the barbaric attack by Palestinian terrorists on innocent Israelis.
Defense Minister Lloyd Austin and Foreign Minister Antony fBlinken have already visited Israel to personally express support for the Israeli cause.
Blinken told the Israeli leader last week that America is ‘here and we’re not going anywhere’ as the two greeted each other.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly invited US President Joe Biden to come to Israel this week as the war with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas heats up.
He has to the Israeli Prime Minister Thursday that ‘you may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself, but as long as America exists you will never have to… We will always be there by your side.’
“Thank you very much,” Netanyahu replied.
During a joint press conference, Blinken conveyed his personal feelings about the relentless slaughter of Jews by Hamas terrorists – of whom the single highest number killed last Saturday since the Holocaust.
“If you will allow me a personal aside – I come before you not only as the American Secretary of State, but also as a Jew,” he said.
In addition to Israelis, at least 25 Americans died during the attacks. An unknown number in the double digits were also kidnapped by Hamas and taken into Gaza.
It also believed that as many as 600 American citizens were trapped in Gaza.
Blinken also insisted he would not try to stem the Israeli counterattack ahead of a widely expected invasion of the densely populated enclave.
Israel is inevitably and will continue to be heavily criticized by countries, people and outlets around the world for its counter-offensive attacks on Gaza.
The counterattacks are expected to increase this week as some 360,000 Israeli troops assemble and prepare for war.
“We know that Israel will take all the precautions it can, just as we would, and that, again, is what separates us from Hamas and terrorist groups that engage in the most heinous kinds of activities,” Blinken told reporters as he departed.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken flew to Israel last week to personally demonstrate US support for Israel in the wake of Hamas terror attacks
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant (L) meets with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (R) in Tel Aviv. “This is no time for neutrality, or for false equivalency, or for excuses for the inexcusable,” Austin said during his Friday visit.
Israeli soldiers with armored fighting vehicles gather along the Israeli border with Gaza as the IDF prepares for a massive ground invasion from its hostile neighbor
The IDF angrily warned the 1 million residents of Gaza City to evacuate and head south.
Hamas repeatedly told Palestinian residents of Gaza to stay put and continued to restrict their movement by force.
After Blinken’s visit, Austin arrived in yet another high-profile show of American support for Israel.
In Tel Aviv, during a press conference with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, he expressed an unequivocal condemnation of the Hamas terrorist attacks.
“This is not a time for neutrality, or for false equivalency, or for excuses for the inexcusable,” he said, referring to the protests around the world, including all major American cities, in which groups of Palestinian supporters gathered around the Hamas to celebrate attacks as a step towards the liberation of the Palestinian people.
Many such groups excuse the radical Palestinian terror attempt as part of a larger mission to end the ‘Israeli apartheid state’.
The Biden administration has made it clear that they are not sympathetic to the ideology of the protesters and will stand with Israel as it fights for its continued survival.
‘There is never any justification for terrorism. And that’s especially true of this rampage of Hamas,” Austin said.
The DoD chief added that what he saw the Hamas terrorists carry out last week was worse than anything he had seen from ISIS.
Smoke rises from Gaza City as the IDF continues to bombard the area before the army kicks into high gear with a massive ground invasion
The USS Eisenhower, seen here in February, left Virginia on Friday and is now on its way to the coast of Israel
Benjamin Netanyahu is seen talking to soldiers preparing to invade Gaza on Saturday
‘Merkava’ tanks gather today at a gathering point at an undisclosed location along the border with Gaza
Within hours of the terrible attack by Hamasthe US began moving warships and aircraft into the region to be ready to provide Israel with everything it needs to respond.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest warship, arrived in the area on Wednesday.
A second US airline strike group leaves Norfolk, Virginia on Friday. Numerous planes are on their way to US military bases in the Middle East. And special operations forces now help Israel’s military with planning and intelligence.
The build-up reflects US concerns that the deadly fighting between Hamas and Israel could escalate into a more dangerous regional conflict. So the primary mission for those ships and warplanes is to establish a force presence that prevents Hezbollah, Iran or others from taking advantage of the situation. But the forces the US has sent are capable of more than that.
The US is also speeding up shipments of ammunition and interceptors for Israel’s fight against Hamas.
President Joe Biden said Tuesday that resupplying Iron Dome munitions and air defense systems is an immediate priority.
“We are loading additional military aid, including munitions and interceptors to augment Iron Dome,” Biden said. “We are going to make sure that Israel does not run out of these critical assets to defend its cities and its citizens.”
Iron Dome’s missiles target rockets approaching one of its cities. According to Raytheon, Israel has 10 Iron Dome systems in place to protect its cities. Since Saturday’s attack, Hamas has fired more than 5,000 rockets at Israel, most of which the system was able to intercept, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
Raytheon manufactures most of the missile components for Iron Dome in the US, and the Army has two Iron Dome systems in its inventory.
Israel continues to deploy soldiers, tanks and armored vehicles near the Gaza border in Sderot, Israel on October 15, 2023, despite a delayed ground invasion into Gaza
A 360,000-strong IDF assembled to prepare for battle with Hamas as Israeli leaders vowed to eliminate every last operation of the terror group from the face of the earth
In the US, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the US was ‘actively trying’ to locate US hostages who may be in Gaza and that it was a ‘priority’ of the president to find and bring home.
“It’s obviously high on the president’s priority list. “Nothing is more important to him than the safety and security of Americans held hostage overseas,” he said.
Since the terrorist organization Hamas, once democratically elected by the Palestinian people to lead Gaza, attacked Israel last Saturday, killing some 1,400 Israelis and injuring at least 3,600, the death toll has risen on both sides.
The Gazan Ministry of Health reported that the Palestinian death toll had climbed above 2,300, a figure sure to rise if Gazans are not free to move out of the area Israel has expressly told them to evacuate.
Israel reported on Saturday that 258 of its soldiers had been killed so far.