US President Joe Biden made a statement from the White House on Saturday night following the Hamas attack on Israel that has left at least 250 dead and more than 1,400 injured. In his statement, Biden stressed that Israel has the full backing of the United States to defend itself.
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“Today the people of Israel are under attack orchestrated by a terrorist organization, Hamas. In this moment of tragedy, I want to say to them and to the world and to terrorists everywhere, the United States stands with Israel. We will not ever fail to have their back, we’ll make sure that they’ll have the help their citizens need and they can continue to defend themselves,” Biden said.
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US President Joe Biden expresses his support for Israel from the White House
(Photo: The White House)
“The world has seen appalling images of thousands of rockets in a space of hours raining down on Israeli cities," Biden continued. "Hamas terrorists crossing into Israel, killing not only Israeli soldiers but Israeli civilians in the streets, in their homes, innocent people murdered, wounded, entire families taken hostage by Hamas, just days after Israel marked the holiest of days on the Jewish calendar. It’s unconscionable,” Biden said, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken standing beside him.
“Israel has the right to defend itself and its people, full stop. There’s never justification for terrorist attacks and my administration’s support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering.”
“This is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage. The world is watching,” he warned.
“It’s also a terrible tragedy on a human level, hurting innocent people, seeing the lives that have been broken by this, the families torn apart. It’s heartbreaking.”
Biden also said that he spoke with the King of Jordan and with members of Congress, and asked his advisers to speak with members of Israel's security establishment "to make sure she has everything she needs." He said he would remain in close contact with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
At the end of his statement he emphasized again: “Let there be no mistake, the United States stands with the State of Israel."