As part of efforts to fulfill Washington's pledges of "absolute" support for Israel and"discuss efforts to prevent the spread of the conflict, secure the immediate and safe release of hostages, and identify mechanisms to protect civilians," following the attack launched by Hamas on Israel last Saturday, the US Secretary of state is touring the Middle East .

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Edited by| Hugh Gey

 

Politic section -  CJ journalist

 

Tel Aviv - October,14,2023 

 

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US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also arrived in Israel on Friday morning on a visit aimed at demonstrating the full solidarity of the United States with its number one ally in the Middle East, showing the extent of official interest by the Biden administration to focus on the American position strongly supporting Israel.

The US Secretary of state has begun his tour to Israel, and the tour includes Jordan and Doha, which analysts consider to be the most important stops in the American tour in the region, as it is believed that the talks between the US Secretary of state and Prince Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani focused on the issue of Israeli hostages held by Hamas since launching its attack on Israel, and includes Blinken's visit to Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and concludes his visit in Egypt, according to a statement issued by the US State Department in this regard.

Blinken told reporters during a visit to Doha that " what Israel is doing is not revenge, "adding that Hamas was"using innocent people as human shields".

"I don't think any country that has faced what Israel has faced will do anything else . We will not allow this to happen again. We are focused on protecting the Israelis,"he said.

During his conversation with the media, he stressed that Washington is working intensively to release the hostages held by Hamas militants in Gaza during their attack last Saturday on Israel.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also began a visit to Israel on Friday as part of US efforts to support Israel at the political and military levels, a visit that began amid a tour by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in the region.

Austin condemned the Hamas attacks in Israel in the strongest terms, stressing that "Washington stands with the people and government of Israel".

He also called for Blinken to involve the countries he is visiting in "efforts to prevent the spillover of the conflict to the countries of the region, secure the immediate release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, identify mechanisms to protect civilians and open safe humanitarian corridors".

The United States announced earlier this week that it was moving an aircraft carrier, ships, and air fighters to the eastern Mediterranean region, confirming that it would provide Israel with more equipment and ammunition.

Austin confirmed that the aircraft carrier "USS Gerald R. Ford", cruise missiles, four missile destroyers are heading to the region in addition to sending US Air fighters, in statements that came on his lips earlier this week.

Washington also announced that it will send the Eisenhower aircraft carrier to the Mediterranean waters in about two weeks amid uncertainty about what the United States intends to do with these carriers and massive military equipment in the region.