The President of the United States, Joe Biden, spoke again on Sunday with the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, to whom he conveyed that additional assistance for the “Israeli Defense Forces” is “now on its way” and that there will be an increase in deliveries in the coming days.
The US military has also reportedly begun moving an aircraft carrier strike group to Israel, as well as squadrons of Air Force fighter jets. Their intention is to show support.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, considered the largest today, is accompanied by destroyers with guided missiles. They have been operating in the Mediterranean, near Italy, but are now heading towards Israeli waters. This strike group includes 5,000 soldiers and a diverse set of military assets, including fighters, squadrons of F-35s, F-15s, F-16s and A-10s.
This device is also intended to curb any attempt by Iran to take advantage of the uncertainty in the region and to deter Hezbollah in Lebanon and other Palestinian militia groups in Israeli territory.
Biden and Netanyahu talked about Hamas abductees. Among these hostages and among the dead in Saturday’s attack, it is more than possible that there are citizens of the United States, acknowledged the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. The investigation is open.
US diplomacy is also carrying out intense lobbying work in favor of Jerusalem, with calls and visits to a long list of countries. This activity has had continuity in the consultations within the Security Council, convened urgently and held yesterday behind closed doors.
Before the meeting, the Israeli ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, appeared to press the Council on the condemnation of Hamas. He described what had happened as war crimes. “It is time to destroy the military infrastructure of Hamas”, he stressed.
“Unfortunately – replied Riyad Mansour, representative of Palestine -, the story begins for many media and authorities when Israelis die and our people are killed year after year. We come to the Security Council and verify that Israel enjoys impunity”. Mansour regretted the Israeli reprisals and remarked that “we cannot ignore the lives and rights of the Palestinians, Israel must change its attitude”.
The meeting aimed for a unanimous conviction. But there was a discrepancy: only for the dead Israelis? The representative of the USA referred only to the victims of Hamas, and that of China, “to all attacks against civilians”.
