US stands by Israel today, tomorrow, and every day, says Blinken amid war

At a time when Israel is battling its toughest war against Hamas, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has reiterated that the US has Israel's back, no matter what.

Calling the ongoing situation in Israel a difficult and very tenuous time for the region in the wake of the slaughter perpetrated by Hamas, Blinken, in his remarks to the press at Cairo airport, said that Israel has the right to defend itself against these attacks from Hamas and to try to do what it can to ensure this never happens again.

"We came here with four key objectives: to make clear that the United States stands with Israel; to prevent the conflict from spreading to other places; to work on securing the release of hostages, including American citizens; and to address the humanitarian crisis that exists in Gaza. We started, as you know, in Israel. And it was important to make it very clear that the United States has Israel's back. We will stand with it today, tomorrow, and every day, and we're doing that in word and also in deed," Blinken said.

 

Highlighting his brief interaction with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his recent visit, Blinken told reporters there is a not of assistance "moving forward."

"I spent time with Prime Minister Netanyahu to go through the needs that Israel may have to make sure it can effectively defend itself, and we've already seen a lot of that assistance moving forward, and that's a conversation that'll continue," he said, according to US State Department release.

"Israel has the right - indeed it has the obligation - to defend itself against these attacks from Hamas, and to try to do what it can to make sure that this never happens again. As I said in Tel Aviv, as President Biden has said, the way that Israel does this matters. It needs to do it in a way that affirms the shared values that we have for human life and human dignity, taking every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians," he added.

On his recent visits to Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and now Egypt, the US State Secretary said that the purpose of "visit to six countries in the region" was to see how "our partners" are seeing the crisis.

"After we left Israel, we've gone now to - I think I've lost track, but to six countries in the region: Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, now here in Egypt. And the purpose of seeing all of our partners was first and foremost to listen to them, to hear how they're seeing this crisis, and to look at what we can do together to deal with many of the concerns that it's raised," Blinken said.

As per The Times of Israel. Blinken, who visited Israel on Thursday before heading to Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Egypt, was slated to return to Israel on Monday for further meetings as part of his diplomatic blitz surrounding the Israel-Gaza war.

According to the latest update, 1,300 people have been killed, with over 3,600 injured, reported The Jerusalem Post.

Israeli Defence Minister Gallant said that the estimate 150-200 hostages are being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, adding, "We are making every effort to locate them even in this great complexity."According to the latest update, 1,300 people have been killed, with over 3,600 injured, reported The Jerusalem Post.

Israeli Defence Minister Gallant said that the estimated 150-200 hostages are being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, adding, "We are making every effort to locate them even in this great complexity.