Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that several Americans were killed after Hamas fighters launched an attack on Israel’s southern border from the Gaza Strip, adding that some U.S. nationals may be hostages.
“We have reports that several Americans were killed [and] we’re working to verify that,” Mr. Blinken said on CNN. “At the same time, there are reports of missing Americans, and there again, we’re working to verify those reports.”
Saturday’s assault on Israel was the worst since the 1973 Yom Kippur War 50 years ago. But Mr. Blinken noted that that conflict was a conventional war between armies.
“This [was] a massive terrorist attack on Israeli civilians — indiscriminate firing of rockets against civilians, thousands of rockets, men and women and children dragged across the border in Gaza — including a Holocaust survivor in a wheelchair,” Mr. Blinken said. “So you can imagine the impact this is having on Israel, and it should be something that revolts the entire world.”
Mr. Blinken noted the long relationship between Iran and Hamas, saying the terror group wouldn’t be the force it is today without the backing from Tehran. But he said they have yet to see any evidence that Iran directed or was behind the fight in southern Israel.
“But there’s certainly a long relationship. It’s one of the reasons why we have been resolutely taking action against Iran and its support for terrorists and terrorist proxies,” Mr. Blinken said.
The surprise attack on Israel suggests a massive intelligence failure, with the military and government appearing to have been blindsided by Hamas’ ability to stream through a heavily fortified border and fire thousands of rockets. The U.S. was apparently taken by surprise as well.
“In terms of the intelligence, there’ll be plenty of time in days again to come to look and see what anyone missed [and] what we could have done better,” Mr. Blinken said. “Right now, the focus is on helping Israel and making sure that it has what it needs to deal with this attack.”
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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