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By Miriam Raftery
Photo, left: Amphibious assault ship USS Bataan, front, and the landing ship USS Carter Hall, by U.S.Navy Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Riley Gasdia
October 17, 2023 (Washington D.C.) – President Joe Biden is traveling to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Netanyahu tomorrow, after which he will head to Jordan for a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, USA Today reports.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken has said that while Biden fully supports Israel’s “right and indeed the duty to defend its people,” the President will also work with Israel to develop a plan “that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza—and them alone,” Voice of America reports. He voiced concerns that Hamas, the terrorist organization that governs Palestine and launched the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel, could intercept supplies of food, water, fuel and medicines.
Israel reports that the Hamas attacks killed at least 1,400 people in Israel and injured more than 4,121. Hamas has also taken an estimated 200 to 250 hostages. The dead and captured include American citizens as well as Israelis. Palestinian officials estimate that Israel bombings in Gaza, which Israel says targeted Hamas militants, have killed 2,778 people and injured 9,938.
The United Nations warns of a humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Isarel has told residents of North Gaza to evacuate to Southern Gaza. But Egypt has closed its border, so there is no place for Gazans to go. Israel has heavily bombed northern Gaza and some bombs have also fallen in southern Gaza areas, though Israel claims to have targeted Hamas, which has a history of using human shields and hiding out in civilian population centers and even hospitals.
Photo, right: Medics transport an injured Palestinian child into Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City following an Israeli airstrike on October 11, 2023; WAFA 3.0
Israel has shut off power, water and fuel to Gaza. Hospitals are running out of fuel and supplies such as food and fuel, as the situation grows desperate. Though Israel has announced it is restoring water to southern Gaza, Hamas claims this has not happened.
Gaza is home to 2.3 million people, who are living in fear amid ruins as Israel surges troops at the border and is widely predicted to be readying a ground assault. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas and make every effort to find and rescue hostages, though it is unknown where intelligence sources have identified hostage locations. Hamas released a video yesterday showing one woman hostage receiving medical treatment, but the White House has dismissed this as propaganda, noting Hamas’ brutal slaughter of Israelis in their homes, at a concert, and other locations.
On Monday, the State Department announced the appointment of Ambassador David Satterfield as the U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Humanitarian Issues, where he will focus on ensuring life-saving assistance can reach vulnerable people throughout the Middle East.
Photo, Left: Be'eri kibbutz in Israel, where at least 117 people were reportedly massacred by Hamas, including men,women and children.
Meanwhile on Israel’s northern front, Hezbollah terrorists in Jordan have launched missile attacks on Israel, with Israel responding with bombs. President Biden has warned Iran and its ally, Hezbolah,to stay out of the Israel-Gaza conflict. The Biden administration has indicated that Iranian assets unfrozen to facilitate a recent hostage exchange have not been spent, and discussed plans to refreeze those assets.
The United States is deploying an amphibious task force of over 4,000 sailors and Marines to be positioned aboard warships include Israel’s war with Hamas expands, the Washington Post reports. The Bataan Amphibious Ready Group will join a growing American fleet of the coast of Israel, including two aircraft carriers and escort ships. The President has also said he plans to ask Congress to military aid for Israel.
On the domestic front, the FBI has bolstered efforts to prevent domestic terrorism targeting Jews or Muslims. Locally, worshippers at mosques and synagogues are on edge in San DIego,where a mass shooter targeted a Poway synagogue in 2019.
This week,the Islamic Center in San Diego announced that flyers and blue cloths resembling the Israeli flag were left on its property, an action the mosque leaders have asked to have investigated as a hate crime. CAIR-SD Executive Director Tazheen Nizam said in a press release, "We are extremely alarmed by these actions. These actions create a sense of fear and concern amongst mosque attendees and the neighboring community.”
In Illinois,a 6-year-old Palestinian child was stabbed to death earlier this week by his family’s landlord, who has been charged with a hate crime.
President Joe Biden denounced the child’s murder, stating, “This horrific act of hate has no place in America, and stands against our fundamental values: freedom from fear for how we pray, what we believe, and who we are.”
Biden urged,”As Americans, we must come together and reject Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry and hatred. I have said repeatedly that I will not be silent in the face of hate. We must be unequivocal. There is no place in America for hate against anyone.”
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