Joe Biden to visit Israel on Wednesday
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The news: US president Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday to reaffirm solidarity with the country and discuss ways to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza as an Israeli military ground invasion looms.
The numbers: Hamas killed more than 1300 people in its rampage in Israel two weekends ago, taking about 200-250 hostages, according to Reuters. At least 2750 Palestinians have been killed and a further 9700 wounded in Israeli airstrikes on Gaza since the Hamas incursion.
The context: Israel has cut off water, electricity and supplies to the Gaza strip, and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency says no humanitarian aid have been allowed into Gaza for more than a week, leaving hundreds of tonnes of supplies stuck over the border in Egypt, Reuters reports.
What they said: President Biden will make clear that "Israel has the right and indeed the duty to defend its people from Hamas and other terrorists and to prevent future attacks," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday from Tel Aviv.
The US president will also "hear from Israel how it will conduct its operations in a way that minimises civilian casualties and enables humanitarian assistance to flow to civilians in Gaza in a way that does not benefit Hamas," Blinked added.
