Secretary of State Antony Blinken revealed Sunday that the Biden administration believes several Americans have died in the conflict ravaging Israel.
“Yes, we have reports that several Americans were killed. “We are working overtime to verify that,” Blinken told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
“At the same time, there are reports of missing Americans and, again, we are working to verify those reports.”
He did not provide an estimate.
The Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas unleashed a surprise attack and barrage of rockets against Israel along with a ground assault on Saturday.
According to Israeli officials, more than 600 Israeli citizens have been killed in the fighting and 2,000 have been wounded.
Israel’s cabinet invoked Article 40 Aleph, marking the nation’s first formally declared war since 1973.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised “powerful revenge” and that Israel will emerge “victorious.”
Antony Blinken affirmed that the United States supports Israel as it fights the largest military conflict it has faced in five decades.REUTERS
Meanwhile, more than 313 Palestinians have died and 1,990 are missing, including 20 children dead and 121 injured, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Blinken condemned the violence and affirmed the Biden administration’s support for the Jewish state, emphasizing that “we have been on the phone throughout our administration for the last 24 hours.”
A key difference between this current conflict and past ones like the Yom Kippur War in 1973 is that this is not a conventional war, Blinken emphasized.
“This is a massive terrorist attack against Israeli civilians. [with] “Indiscriminate rocket fire on civilians, thousands of rockets, men, women and children swept across the border into Gaza,” he said.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed that Israel will take “powerful revenge” against Hamas. ZUMAPRESS.com
So far, despite skirmishes near the Israel-Lebanon border, Blinken believes activity there has been limited for now.
Given the outbreaks there, there have been great fears that the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah will join the fight and add a second front, given its alignment with Hamas.
“President Biden was very clear from the first moments that no one anywhere else should try to take advantage of this situation,” Blinked said, noting that the United States is watching Hezbollah “very carefully.”
One potential motivation for the Hamas attack, which came a day after the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, may have been negotiations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, Blinken surmised.
A cacophony of Republicans has criticized the Biden administration over the recent prisoner exchange deal with Iran finalized last month, which would see $6 billion in Iranian oil revenues unfrozen.
Blinken responded that “not a single dollar has been spent from that account,” which has been closely monitored by the US Treasury.
He also stressed that “we have not yet seen evidence that Iran directed” this recent attack, but warned of Tehran’s support for Hamas and Hezbollah.
Many observers have compared Israeli intelligence failures before the attack to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States.
“There will be plenty of time in a few days to come see what was missed, what could have been, what we could have done better,” Blinken said.
For now, the United States is working to ensure that Israel “has what it needs,” he added.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn