A senior U.S. official highlighted that the Biden administration is working with Israel following the deadly attack between the Hamas group and the Israeli forces.
“We want to make sure this is contained in Gaza,” the official told reporters.
The official indicated that there was no indication yet that Iran was involved in the Hamas attack but vowed to look into it. “We always share timely intelligence,” he said.
Biden spoke by phone to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to offer U.S. support. The two leaders have had strained relations but met in New York last month in a show of solidarity.
“I made clear to Prime Minister Netanyahu that we stand ready to offer all appropriate means of support to the government and people of Israel,” Biden said in a written statement.
The American leader directed his national security team to stay in touch about the situation with countries throughout the region including Egypt, Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Oman, the UAE, and European allies.
On his part, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asserted the right of his people to defend themselves.
Abbas ordered necessary protection for people, stressing the right of the Palestinian people to “defend themselves against the terrorism of settlers and the occupation forces.”
At least 20 Israelis were killed and over 540 others injured since Friday morning in rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, according to media reports.
Egypt called for restraint on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. The Egyptian Foreign Ministry warned of the repercussions of this escalation and called on the international community to ask Israel to stop its attacks against the Palestinian people.
