President Joe Biden during a Tuesday speech about the four-day-old war between Israel and Hamas to condemn the militant group for a shocking multipronged attack on Israel launched from the Gaza Strip that has killed hundreds of civilians, including at least 14 American citizens.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke by phone earlier on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the situation on the ground. The president also spoke on the actions he and other allies have taken to support Israel in the aftermath of the attack.

Israel-Hamas Conflict
President Biden delivers remarks on Hamas attack on Israel: ‘We stand with Israel’
Biden, in his remarks and statements since Hamas launched its attacks, has repeatedly emphasized his shock over the breadth and brutality of the Hamas assault.

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Author: TEGNA Digital, Associated Press
Published: 11:38 AM EDT October 10, 2023
Updated: 2:40 PM EDT October 10, 2023
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WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden during a Tuesday speech about the four-day-old war between Israel and Hamas to condemn the militant group for a shocking multipronged attack on Israel launched from the Gaza Strip that has killed hundreds of civilians, including at least 14 American citizens.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke by phone earlier on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the situation on the ground. The president also spoke on the actions he and other allies have taken to support Israel in the aftermath of the attack.

He also addressed the brutality and “pure unadulterated evil” of the militants toward Israelis who were captured by Hamas in the operation, including rape and torture, the official said.

“This is terrorism,” Biden stated and added that sadly for the Jewish people, this is not new.

“We stand with Israel,” the president said Tuesday.

Biden, in his public remarks and statements since Hamas launched its attacks, has repeatedly emphasized his shock over the breadth and brutality of the Hamas assault — a blitz by land, sea and air that surprised Israeli and U.S. intelligence and that has killed hundreds Israelis and left even more wounded.

Retaliatory strikes by Israel on the Gaza Strip have also left hundreds of dead and wounded Palestinians in the blockaded 141-square mile area, one the poorest patches of territory in the world. The death toll was expected to grow as Israel pummeled Gaza with airstrikes and sent tens of thousands of Palestinians fleeing into U.N. shelters.

The White House on Monday confirmed that it has already begun delivering critically needed munitions and military equipment to Israel, and the Pentagon was reviewing its inventories to see what else can be sent quickly to boost its ally in the war against Hamas.

The U.S. Ford carrier strike group has arrived in the far Eastern Mediterranean, within range to provide a host of air support or long-range strike options for Israel if requested, but also to surge U.S. military presence there to prevent the war from spilling over into a more dangerous regional conflict, a U.S. official told The Associated Press.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the arrival ahead of an announcement.

The Pentagon has said that the U.S. warplanes, destroyers and cruisers that sailed with the Ford will conduct maritime and air operations which could include intelligence collection, interdictions and long-range strikes.

Along with the Ford, the U.S. is sending the cruiser USS Normandy and destroyers USS Thomas Hudner, USS Ramage, USS Carney, and USS Roosevelt, and the U.S. is augmenting Air Force F-35, F-15, F-16, and A-10 fighter aircraft squadrons in the region.

Biden on Monday in a joint statement with French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak underscored the “legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people” and their decades-long push for sovereignty. But the leaders also sought to separate the Palestinians’ aspirations from the “appalling acts of terrorism” by Hamas.

Americans have had a gloomy outlook on Biden’s performance on the Israeli-Palestinian issue. Six in 10 Americans (61%) disapproved of how Biden was handling the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians, according to an August poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. About one-third (35%) of U.S. adults approved, which was slightly lower than Biden’s overall approval rating of 42% in the same poll. Author: TEGNA Digital, Associated Press

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