Eleven days after the devastating Islamic Hamas terrorist attack, US President Joe Biden is expected to pay a solidarity visit to Israel today. Among other things, a conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planned.
Jordan cancels summit in Amman
Biden wanted to travel to Jordan on the same day – a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian head of state Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah II was canceled by the Jordanian side.
Biden had spoken regularly on the phone with Netanyahu in recent days while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled the region as a crisis diplomat. During his visit to Tel Aviv, Biden will reaffirm US solidarity with Israel and obtain information about Israeli military operations, Blinken announced. The US President wanted to take advantage of the trip to warn other actors not to exploit the crisis and attack Israel.
Negotiations will focus on the release of hostages held by Hamas. Biden wants to know how Israel intends to keep the number of civilian casualties in Gaza as low as possible and how humanitarian aid can better reach the civilian population without benefiting Hamas.