The weekend calls in Washington came ahead of Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s announcement that the US was moving a second carrier strike group into position in support of Israel. Secretary of State Antony Blinken intensified diplomatic outreach across the Middle East and beyond to rally an international response to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from expanding.
The broad US efforts reflect the international concern about the number of civilians at risk and the potential ramifications of a prolonged war as Israel told Gaza residents to move south and Hamas urged people to remain in their homes. The Biden administration has not publicly urged Israel to restrain its response after the Hamas attack a week ago, but has emphasised the country’s commitment to following the rules of war.
Addressing a Human Rights Campaign dinner Saturday in Washington, Biden linked the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to different versions of hate that he said must be stopped.
Palestinian children in a building destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Rafah, Gaza Strip. Photo / AP
“A week ago we saw hate manifest another way in the worst massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Biden said, citing the 1300 lives lost in Israel as well as “children, grandparents alike kidnapped, held hostage by Hamas”.
“The humanitarian crisis in Gaza — innocent Palestinian families and the vast majority that have nothing to do with Hamas — they’re being used as human shields,” he said. “We have to reject hate in every form.”
Blinken met with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Riyadh before stopping in the United Arab Emirates as he sought ways to help civilians trapped in between the fighting and to address the growing humanitarian crisis.
He also called his Chinese counterpart as Palestinians struggled to flee from areas of Gaza targeted by the Israeli military before an expected land offensive.
Austin spoke with Israeli Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant, stressing the importance of safeguarding civilians. Austin offered updates on US efforts to boost air defence capabilities and munitions for Israeli forces that he noted were aimed at stemming escalation of war, according to a readout of the call.
Israeli soldiers walk past houses destroyed by Hamas militants in Kibbutz Be'eri, Israel. Photo / AP
Austin said the Biden administration was sending the additional carrier strike group to the Eastern Mediterranean. The Eisenhower will join the USS Gerald R Ford carrier strike group, which is already sailing near Israel, to bolster US presence there with a host of destroyers, fighter aircraft and cruisers.
In a statement announcing the deployment, Austin said sending the second carrier was “part of our effort to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’s attack on Israel”.
While Biden has spoken to Netanyahu multiple times since the Hamas attack, his call to Abbas, who runs the Palestinian Authority which controls the West Bank, waas his first. According to a readout of the call, Abbas briefed the president on efforts to bring aid to Palestinian people, particularly in Gaza.
Biden reiterated to Abbas that “Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination”.
Biden spoke with Netanyahu to “reiterate unwavering US support for Israel”. He briefed the Israeli leader on regional efforts to ensure civilian access to food, water and medical care.
Blinken, in his visits with Saudi and UAE leaders, also cited the need for humanitarian assistance and safe passage from those who wish to leave Gaza as he spoke to Arab audiences from their home turf, where his hosts put that issue at the top of their concerns.
An Israeli ground assault would worsen the plight of civilians in Gaza who are without power, fresh water or access to aid. Egyptian officials said the southern Rafah crossing would open for the first time in days to allow foreigners out. Israel has advised all Palestinian civilians to flee south to avoid Israel’s continued offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza City.
Blinken also called Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to seek his country’s help in preventing the war from spreading, asking Beijing to use whatever influence it has in the Mideast. Blinken’s spokesman declined to characterise Wang’s response but said the US believes it and China have a shared interest in the region’s stability.
In Riyadh, Blinken and Prince Faisal stressed the importance of minimising the harm to civilians as Israel prepared for an anticipated incursion against Hamas a week after the militant group’s unprecedented attack against Israel.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, and Israel's President Isaac Herzog. Photo / AP
“As Israel pursues its legitimate right, to defending its people and to trying to ensure that this never happens again, it is vitally important that all of us look out for civilians, and we’re working together to do exactly that,” Blinken said.
“None of us want to see suffering by civilians on any side, whether it’s in Israel, whether it’s in Gaza, whether it’s anywhere else,” Blinken said.
