President Biden said that the U.S. will work with Israel, the U.N. and countries neighboring the Jewish state to ease humanitarian issues following the first Israeli-led ground raids in Gaza.
Mr. Biden has said that the U.S. was ready to provide Israel with “all appropriate means of support” in combating the terrorist organization Hamas. However, U.N. and international officials have warned of a mounting humanitarian crisis in Gaza while Israel continues to pummel the Gaza Strip with shelling and missile strikes.
“The U.S. is working with the governments of Israel, Egypt, Jordan — and with the UN — to surge support to ease the humanitarian consequences of Hamas’s attack, create conditions needed to resume the flow of assistance, and advocate for the upholding of the law of war,” Mr. Biden said on X, formerly Twitter.
Over 1,300 Israelis and at least 27 Americans have been killed since Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel. Palestinian officials said that over 2,000 Palestinians have been killed in the week of fighting.
Israel has cut off Gaza from receiving supplies, like food, fuel, water and medicine, since the initial attacks last week.
Jordan Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi condemned Israel’s counterstrike against the terrorist group Hamas in Gaza, saying that Israel’s blockade of aid and “pressure on residents to leave” is “in violation of international law.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to destroy Hamas.
Israeli Defense Forces officials said that the country’s first ground raids into Gaza took place over the day on Friday. It’s unclear if the first push into the territory is part of a larger offensive against Hamas.
Israel’s military gave a 24-hour evacuation notice to 1.1 million residents in northern Gaza ahead of the operation.
“The noose around the civilian population in Gaza is tightening. How are 1.1 million people supposed to move across a densely populated warzone in less than 24 hours?” said U.N. emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths on social media Friday. “I shudder to think what the humanitarian consequences of the evacuation order would be.”
Hamas alleged that Israeli airstrikes hit convoys of fleeing residents Friday afternoon, killing at least 70 people.
Lawmakers in Congress have been critical of Mr. Biden’s Middle Eastern policies following Hamas’s attacks on Israel, particularly for $6 billion in oil revenues that the Biden administration used as a bargaining chip in a prisoner swap deal with Iran, a known backer of Hamas.
The Biden administration has since moved to place new holds on the oil money.
The administration contended that the money was meant to be used for humanitarian aid only, while critics argued that money is fungible and that releasing $6 billion for humanitarian purposes would allow Iran to spend other money elsewhere.
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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