Biden urged Israel to step back from the brink, not just to ease growing tensions in the Mideast that threaten to spiral into a broader regional conflict, but also to reassure a world rattled by images of carnage and suffering, in Israel and Gaza alike.
One million people have been displaced in roughly 10 days, according to the United Nations.
- Senators Move En-Masse To Akwa Ibom, For 4-Day Retreat
- BRICS Financial Systems and Their Impact on Developing Nations
- Transforming Lives: An Interview with Mrs. Duru Regina, National Coordinator of Regy and Henry Amazing Grace Foundation
Biden’s mission was to display resolve for Israel and to diminish the likelihood of a wider war, while providing assurances that he was not overlooking the increasingly dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. Aboard the flight back to Washington Biden made progress when he spoke by phone with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi who agreed to reopen his country’s sealed border crossing with Gaza and allow up to 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid supplies to cross.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Biden said roads near the crossing would first need hours of repairs, but that aid could begin rolling into the region by Friday. He suggested the aid could be distributed by international officials “which could take a little time” and added that, “if Hamas confiscates it, it’s going to end. We’re not going to send any aid to Hamas.”
“I wanted to make sure that there was a vehicle, a mechanism where this could happen quickly,” Biden said during a refueling stop at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. He added that el-Sissi was “very cooperative.”
In fact, the president said officials had a discussion “of an hour or more” on “whether to go” before the trip began. ”Had we gone and this failed, then the United States failed. The Biden presidency failed, et cetera, which would be a legitimate criticism,” he said.
Aid moving into Gaza accomplish a key objective for Biden, and the White House announced that the president will address the nation from the Oval Office on Thursday night to “discuss our response to Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel and Russia’s ongoing brutal war against Ukraine.”