US President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday amid concerns over the escalating war with Hamas.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that Biden will travel to the Middle East as the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) prepare for a ground operation in Gaza.
This came after a mammoth seven hour meeting on Monday between Blinken and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who extended the invitation to the President.
Biden is looking to send his strongest message yet that the US is supporting Israel, but did earlier warn that occupying the Gaza region would be a “mistake”.
Blinken explained that Biden will “receive a comprehensive brief on Israel’s war aims and strategy” while visiting the country and “hear from Israel how it will conduct its operations in a way that minimises civilian casualties”.
READ MORE: Hamas releases sickening first hostage footage of injured 21-year-old woman
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Biden will work to create “some sort of safe passage” for civilians to leave Gaza if they want to.
National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby added that the President will “discuss the issue of humanitarian assistance” in a way that does not benefit Hamas.
After visiting Tel Aviv, Biden will travel to Amman, Jordan, where he will meet with Jordanian King Abdullah, Egypt’s President Al-Sisi and the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas.
Earlier today, Biden agreed that Hamas needs to be “eliminated” in order to pave the way to a two-state solution between Israel and Palestine.
He added that a Palestinian authority would need to play a role in brokering this agreement while reaffirming his support for a two-state solution.
“Look, what happened in Gaza, in my view, is Hamas and the extreme elements of Hamas don’t represent all the Palestinian people. And I think that, it would be a mistake to for Israel to occupy Gaza again. We are going in and taking out the extremists… is a necessary requirement,” President Biden said during an hour-long interview with CBS.
When asked if Hamas needs to be eliminated, Biden was unequivocal: “Yes, I do. But there needs to be a Palestinian authority. There needs to be a path to a Palestinian state.
“That path, called “the two-state solution,” has been U.S. policy for decades. It would create an independent nation next to Israel for five million Palestinians who live in Gaza and on the West Bank of the Jordan River.”
It comes just hours after Hamas reportedly released their first hostage video from those kindapped on October 7.
The worrying footage, which was allegedly sent out by Hamas’ armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, shows Mia Shem speaking directly to the camera in Hebrew.
The 21-year-old was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists last week while attending the Supernova Music Festival in Kibbutz Re’im, where 260 people were tragically killed.
In the video, she can be seen with a serious arm injury and pleads to be returned to her family.
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