American officials said the US is not urging the administration in Israel to exercise restraint in the Gaza Strip and go ahead with its retaliation plan in the blockaded coastal enclave to punish Hamas for its deeds.
The US President Joe Biden on Tuesday (local time) in a speech condemned Hamas for its surprise attack on Israel and also confirmed that there were at least 20 Americans being held hostage by Hamas and the number of Americans killed now stands at 14.
Biden did not hold back his emotions and anger in his speech.
He said Hamas “butchered” and “massacred” innocent civilians. “The brutality of Hamas’ bloodthirstiness brings to mind the worst rampages of ISIS. It’s abhorrent,” Biden said.
People familiar with the developments told CNN that when Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Biden that Israel would enter the Gaza Strip he did not urge him to hold back and only told him to ensure that the rule of law is being followed.
Biden gave no warnings to Netanyahu regarding entering the Gaza Strip.
He, however, said that steps taken must show that the US and Israel are different from Hamas. “Terrorists purposely target civilians, kill them. We uphold the laws of war. It matters. There’s a difference,” Biden said.
“We are not urging restraint right now,” the official mentioned above said.
The official also pointed out that whenever tensions have erupted between Israel and Palestine, the US has called for ceasefire but Biden’s first written statement over the weekend did not include the term “ceasefire”, the CNN said.
The US secretary of state Antony Blinken said he is leaving for Israel to engage with Israeli officials. “Tomorrow, I will leave for Israel to engage with our Israeli partners directly about the situation on the ground and to discuss ways we can continue to support them in the fight against these terrorist attacks. Our support for Israel remains unwavering,” Blinken said in a post on social media site X.
“The brutality of Hamas, this blood-thirstiness, brings to mind the worst, the worst rampages of ISIS – this is terrorism, but sadly, for the Jewish people it’s not new,” Biden said in his speech.
“This attack has brought to the surface painful memories and the scars left by millennia of anti-Semitism and genocide of the Jewish people, so in this moment, we must be crystal clear, we stand with Israel,” Biden further added.