President Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday in a dramatic show of solidarity with the Jewish state, which is still reeling from a surprise attack by Hamas terrorists earlier this month.
The trip comes ahead of Israel’s expected ground invasion of the Hamas-ruled Gaza in an effort to wipe out the organization and as the U.S. ramps up efforts with Middle East allies to avoid a humanitarian crisis.
White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters late Monday that Mr. Biden’s one-day trip will also include a stopover in Jordan, where the president will also include a meeting with King Abdullah II of Jordan, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
“We’ve been crystal clear about the need for humanitarian aid to be able to flow into Gaza. That has been a consistent call by President Biden and certainly by this entire administration,” Mr. Kirby said.
The president will “reiterate that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinians’ right to dignity and self-determination,” Mr. Kirby said of the meeting with Mr. Abbas.
Since Hamas carried out the deadly Oct. 7 terror attack, Israel has cut off food, electricity, and some water to Gaza. It has also ordered more than 1 million people living in Gaza to evacuate as Israeli troops have begun amassing at the border.
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Mr. Biden will have a bilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials in Tel Aviv.
The talks will focus on rescuing the nearly 200 hostages taken by Hamas, which include U.S. citizens; providing Israel with military and humanitarian aid; and resolving the burgeoning humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Mr. Netanyahu had invited Mr. Biden to visit Israel when the two spoke by phone on Saturday. The president wanted to go to show the strongest sign yet that the U.S. stands with Israel after Hamas killed more than 1,400 Israelis and foreign nationals, including 30 Americans.
The Biden administration has already pledged its unabashed support for Israel. It has already sent two U.S. aircraft carriers to the region and plans to ask Congress for more than $2 billion in additional aid to Israel and Ukraine, which is still fighting its war with Russia.
The trip is Mr. Biden’s second visit to an active war zone this year, having traveled to Ukraine in February for a secret visit. However, the trip to Israel could be more perilous.
When Mr. Biden traveled to Ukraine, the U.S. told Russia about his plans and, likely fearing an American reprisal, the Kremlin did not try to stop the visit.
However, Hamas, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization, would be more likely to try to strike at the president.
“We wouldn’t make a trip, obviously, if we did not believe that proper security parameters would be in place,” Mr. Kirby said. “The security situation is certainly tense, of course. But we take all those factors into account when we both plan the president’s trip and when we make a decision to preview it.”
Hamas has been launching rockets into Israel nearly around the clock. An air raid siren went off Monday night during a meeting between Mr. Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, forcing them to take shelter in a bunker.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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