Blinken to visit Israel this week

Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Israel later this week in a show of support for its government, the State Department said Tuesday.

The trip, announced by spokesperson Matthew Miller at a Tuesday press briefing, will see Blinken land in Israel on Thursday. While Miller did not provide additional information about logistics, saying that “this is a trip we’re still putting together,” he affirmed that it was intended to show U.S. support for Israel.

“It will be a message of solidarity and support,” Miller said on Tuesday. “We’re there to support them as they fight against these brutal terrorist attacks, to talk about what additional assistance we can provide them.”

Blinken’s visit would be a major sign of U.S. support for the Israeli government as Israel wages war on the Palestinian militant group Hamas. The intensified fighting came in the wake of an unprecedented surprise attack on Saturday by Hamas militants who stormed the border walls around Gaza, launched rockets toward Israeli cities, and entered settlements and towns in southern Israel, killing and kidnapping Israeli civilians and military personnel.

Thousands of Israelis and Palestinians have been killed since fighting began over the weekend. Fourteen American citizens have been killed and 20 American citizens are missing and unaccounted for, national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed at a White House press briefing on Tuesday. The U.S. believes that some Americans are among the hostages in Gaza.

Miller said the U.S. government was engaging with airlines to secure repatriation flights for American citizens stuck in Israel. Many airlines have suspended flights to Israel in response to the conflict.

“We have been in discussions with carriers, urging them to consider whether they want to resume travel,” Miller said, adding that American citizens should “take advantage” of flights and “other routes” out of Israel.

Sullivan said the Biden administration wasn’t planning to send troops to Israel as part of efforts to free hostages.

“That is not something under planning,” Sullivan told reporters on Tuesday. “What we are focused on when we talk about sending experts, it is people who can work on intelligence, who can work on overall planning, who can work on coordination with the Israeli government.”

The U.S. has rapidly increased its flow of military assistance and weapons shipments to Israel in response to the attack, and the Navy has moved warships closer to Israel in the Mediterranean Sea. The Biden administration has also urged Congress to provide additional aid to Israel.