Team News Riveting
Jerusalem, October 16
US President Joe Biden is considering a trip to Israel in the coming days on the invitation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to reports in the Israeli newspapers, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited US President Joe Biden to Israel on a solidarity visit amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. It would be a powerful symbol of sympathy and support following the brutal attack by the militant group.
White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson remained mum on a potential visit, saying, “We have no new travel to announce.” However, officials hinted that any possible visit would be unlikely to be announced in advance due to security risks. Media outlets reported that Netanyahu’s office and the White House were examining the details and positively considering the invitation.
Biden would be the first head of state to visit since the Hamas terror group’s devastating onslaught on October 7 that killed some 1,300 Israelis, most of them civilians. At least 155 people were abducted by terrorists during the assault and are being held inside the Gaza Strip. According to the State Department, at least 29 Americans were killed following Hamas’s bloody incursion into Israel.
Israel has responded with an intense bombing campaign that Gaza health officials say has claimed over 2,600 lives. Israel says its offensive is aimed at destroying Hamas’s infrastructure, and has vowed to eliminate the entire terror group, which rules the Strip.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Israel last week and is expected back in the country on today. In between, he has toured Arab nations in the region to rally pressure on Hamas and to prevent the conflict from spreading to Israel’s northern border, as well as to negotiate the entry of humanitarian aid into the embattled enclave.
Biden had last visited Israel in July 2022. Last month he met with Netanyahu on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, the first time the two met in the United States since Netanyahu returned to power in December 2022.
