Biden urges Americans to support funding for Israel in rare Oval Office address
That speech is now over. Let’s recap:
As expected, Biden used his second-ever Oval Office address to appeal to Americans for their support for tens of billions of dollars of funding for Israel and Ukraine.
Biden said he would send an urgent funding request to Congress, which is expected to be roughly $100bn over the next year. The proposal, which will be unveiled on Friday, includes money for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, humanitarian aid and border management.
Throughout the address, he made comparisons between Israel and Ukraine, Hamas and Putin. He stressed, however, that Israel should not make the same “mistakes” made by the US after 9/11 when, he said, Americans were “blinded by rage”.
Biden said, “As hard as it is, we cannot give up on peace, we cannot give up on a two-state solution”, and that, “The US remains committed to Palestinians’ right to dignity and to self-determination. The acts of Hamas don’t take that away.”
“Hamas and Putin represent different threats,” Biden said. “But they share this in common. They both want to completely annihilate a neighbouring democracy.”
Biden said:
That’s why tomorrow I’m going to send to Congress and urgent budget request to fund America’s national security needs to support our critical partners including Israel and Ukraine. It’s a smart investment that will pay dividends for American security for generations.
Help us keep American troops out of harm’s way. Help us build a world that is safer, more peaceful, more prosperous for our children and grandchildren. In Israel, we must make sure that they have what they need to protect the people today and always.
The security package I’m sending to Congress and asking Congress to build is an unprecedented addition to our security that will sharpen Israel, qualitatively wonderful qualitative military edge that we have committed to, that military edge.
Key events
Latest death tolls
These are the most recent death tolls from Gaza and Israel:
The Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said 3,785 people have been killed in Gaza since the war began, the majority women, children and older adults. Nearly 12,500 were injured, and another 1,300 people were believed buried under rubble, authorities said.
This toll includes 477 people it said were killed in a hospital explosion. This figure is disputed by US intelligence, which estimates the toll was between 100 and 300 people.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, mostly civilians slain during Hamas’ deadly incursion. 203 others were abducted, and between 100 and 200 are missing, the IDF said.
““We do not know if they are dead and their body is somewhere in Israel or somewhere in the Gaza strip whether in the hands of Hamas or other terrorist organisations or not in the hands of anybody, or if they are held hostage,” IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus said.
Julian Borger
Humanitarian agencies have stockpiled life-saving supplies on the Egyptian side of the border, waiting for the crossing to open. The UN aid chief, Martin Griffiths, told the UN security council on Wednesday that the organisation sought to bring aid deliveries to Gaza back to 100 trucks a day, the level before the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Griffiths told the security council: “There is simply nowhere to go for civilians to escape the destruction and privation, both of which grow by the hour as missiles continue to fly and essential supplies, including fuel, food, medical items, water run low.
“Due to the scarcity of water, UNRWA [the UN relief agency] in some locations … is being forced to ration down to providing one litre of water per person per day. Bear in mind that the minimum by international standards should be 15 litres, and they’re getting one – and they’re the lucky ones.”
203 Israeli hostages, says IDF; up to 100-200 unaccounted for
In an interview with CNN, IDF spokesperson Jonathan Conricus has said that 203 Israelis are being held hostage by Hamas.
He added that there are “between 100 and 200 Israelis that are still unaccounted for.”
“We do not know if they are dead and their body is somewhere in Israel or somewhere in the Gaza strip whether in the hands of Hamas or other terrorist organisations or not in the hands of anybody, or if they are held hostage,” he said.
Julian Borger
Israel security officials have signalled their readiness to embark on a ground offensive into Gaza that they say will be far more comprehensive and ferocious than any previous conflict with Hamas.
Israel’s defence minister, Yoav Gallant, visited troops on the Gaza border on Thursday, telling them: “You see Gaza now from a distance, you will soon see it from inside. The command will come.”
“I am tasked with leading us to victory,” Gallant told the soldiers. “We will be precise and forceful, and we will keep going until we fulfil our mission.”
Soon after Gallant’s statement, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, broadcast a video of himself with troops near the border also promising victory. At a meeting with his visiting British counterpart, Rishi Sunak, Netanyahu said: “This is our darkest hour.”
Israeli officials are adamant that they have no choice but launch a massive assault, codenamed Operation Swords of Iron. Over the past 16 years since the militant movement seized power in Gaza, they argue, Israel has fought three significant conflicts with Hamas, but they said those campaigns were aimed at keeping Hamas in check rather than destroying it.
“The strategy was to have a longer gap every time between the different conflicts, but it failed and it cannot happen any more,” a senior Israeli security official said. “So the only conclusion is that we have to go in, we have to go in and clean it and to eliminate Hamas from the roots, not only militarily, but also economically, its administration. Everything should go away.”
“That’s the idea now and we are getting prepared for that,” the official said, and warned: “It won’t be clear cut and it won’t be as short as we would like as Israelis. It will be a prolonged campaign. It will take time.”
Navy warship shot down missiles appearing to head toward Israel
US forces in the Middle East are facing increasing threats.
Earlier, the Associated Press reported that a Navy warship shot down missiles appearing to head toward Israel on Thursday.
The USS Carney, a Navy destroyer in the northern Red Sea, intercepted three land attack cruise missiles and several drones that were launched by Houthi forces in Yemen. The action by the Carney potentially represented the first shots by the US military in the defense of Israel in this conflict, the AP reports.
Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, told reporters the missiles were “potentially” headed toward Israel but said the US hasn’t finished its assessment of what they were targeting.
A US official said they don’t believe the missiles — which were shot down over the water — were aimed at the US warship. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations that had not yet been announced.
But an array of other drone attacks over the past three days did target US bases, including one in southern Syria on Thursday that caused minor injuries and the drones and rockets that targeted Ain al-Asad air base in western Iraq.
Rockets, drones hit Iraqi bases housing US forces – security sources
Reuters: Drones and rockets targeted on Thursday evening the Ain al-Asad air base, which hosts US and other international forces in western Iraq, and multiple blasts were heard inside the base, two security sources said.
The Iraqi military said it closed the area around the base and started a search operation. It was not clear yet whether the attacks caused casualties or damages, said the sources.
Rockets have hit another military base hosting US forces near Baghdad’s international airport, Iraqi police said on Thursday, without providing further details.
The latest attacks take to four in the past 24 hours targeting Iraqi military bases that hosts US forces in Iraq.
US military forces in Iraq were targeted on Wednesday in two separate drone attacks, with one causing minor injuries to a small number of troops even though the US military managed to intercept the armed drone.
Last week, Iraqi armed groups aligned with Iran threatened to target US interests with missiles and drones if Washington intervened to support Israel against Hamas in Gaza.
The United States has 2,500 troops in Iraq, and 900 more in neighbouring Syria, on a mission to advise and assist local forces in combating Islamic State, which in 2014 seized swathes of territory in both countries.
Ain al-Asad air base is located in the western Anbar province.
In his speech a short while go, as he sought to convince the American public of the need for $100bn in funding for Israel, Ukraine and other countries, Biden appealed to America’s national pride.
“American leadership is what holds the world together. American alliances are what keep us, America, safe. American values are what make us a partner that other nations want to work with,” he said.
“America is a beacon to the world. Still. Still,” he said.
Putin and Hamas both want to ‘annihilate’ neighbouring democracies, Biden said
In his address Biden sought to link Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip who attacked Israel to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
“Hamas and Putin represent different threats, but they share this in common: They both want to annihilate a neighbouring democracy,” he said.
Some more analysis, via Reuters: By lumping the priorities together in one package, Biden is testing whether Republican lawmakers can be persuaded to set aside their opposition and go along with spending on Ukraine, whose 20-month-old war with Russia has absorbed billions of dollars already in US weapons with no end in sight.
Any funding measure must pass both the Democratic-led US Senate, where additional aid has bipartisan support, and the Republican-led House, which has not had a speaker for 17 days.
Conservative Jim Jordan, an ally of former President Donald Trump, vowed to continue his bid for House speaker after failing to win majority support among Republicans.
House Republican lawmakers in recent weeks nearly brought government to a halt over chronic budget deficits and $31.4tn in debt, threatening to slash government spending across the board.
About four in 10 respondents in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted last week said the US should support Israel’s position in the conflict when given a range of options. Nearly half said Americans should remain neutral or not be involved.
In a separate Reuters/Ipsos poll earlier this month, roughly the same proportion agreed with a statement that Washington “should provide weapons to Ukraine.”
Biden described the funding he is going to request on Friday as, “a smart investment that’s going to pay dividends for American security for generations.”
The 80-year-old Democrat was delivering just the second speech of his presidency from behind the historic Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.
“American leadership is what holds the world together. American alliances are what keep us, America, safe. American values are what make us a partner that other nations want to work with,” he said.
“America is a beacon to the world. Still. Still,” he said.
Fresh from a whirlwind trip to Israel this week, Biden wants to win over war-weary voters and hardline Republicans as he ramps up his 2024 reelection bid, AFP reports.
The White House is said to be teeing up a huge request to Congress for a $100bn package that would include funding for Israel in its war with Hamas and also for Ukraine’s battle against Russian invasion.
Tying together two conflicts an ocean away from the United States is a bid by Biden to frame them as part of a bigger struggle to shape the world order and protect Americans at home.
China ready to play a ‘positive role in resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks’
Meanwhile China is ready to maintain communication and coordination with Russia to cool down the Israel-Palestinian crisis, its Middle East special envoy said after meeting with his Russian counterpart this week.
The remarks were reported in Chinese state media.
China and Russia share the same position on the Palestinian issue, Zhai Jun said after meeting with Russia’s special representative for Middle East and African countries in Doha, Qatar on Thursday.
He said China is saddened by the humanitarian crisis, and is ready to play a “positive role in the resumption of Palestinian-Israeli peace talks”, as well as the “genuine implementation” of the two-state solution, state media said.
Some analysis from the Associated Press: Ahead of his address, Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to stress that the US remained committed to backing Kyiv, the White House said.
And a senior White House official said Biden continued to develop his remarks on Thursday after working with close aides throughout the week, including on his flight home from Israel. The official declined to be identified ahead of the president’s speech.
Biden faces an array of steep challenges as he tries to secure the money. The House remains in chaos because the Republican majority has been unable to select a speaker to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted more than two weeks ago.
In addition, conservative Republicans oppose sending more weapons to Ukraine as its battle against the Russian invasion approaches the two-year mark. Biden‘s previous request for funding, which included $24 billion to help with the next few months of fighting, was stripped out of budget legislation last month despite a personal plea from Zelenskiy.
Biden urges Americans to support funding for Israel in rare Oval Office address
That speech is now over. Let’s recap:
As expected, Biden used his second-ever Oval Office address to appeal to Americans for their support for tens of billions of dollars of funding for Israel and Ukraine.
Biden said he would send an urgent funding request to Congress, which is expected to be roughly $100bn over the next year. The proposal, which will be unveiled on Friday, includes money for Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, humanitarian aid and border management.
Throughout the address, he made comparisons between Israel and Ukraine, Hamas and Putin. He stressed, however, that Israel should not make the same “mistakes” made by the US after 9/11 when, he said, Americans were “blinded by rage”.
Biden said, “As hard as it is, we cannot give up on peace, we cannot give up on a two-state solution”, and that, “The US remains committed to Palestinians’ right to dignity and to self-determination. The acts of Hamas don’t take that away.”
“Hamas and Putin represent different threats,” Biden said. “But they share this in common. They both want to completely annihilate a neighbouring democracy.”
Biden said:
That’s why tomorrow I’m going to send to Congress and urgent budget request to fund America’s national security needs to support our critical partners including Israel and Ukraine. It’s a smart investment that will pay dividends for American security for generations.
Help us keep American troops out of harm’s way. Help us build a world that is safer, more peaceful, more prosperous for our children and grandchildren. In Israel, we must make sure that they have what they need to protect the people today and always.
The security package I’m sending to Congress and asking Congress to build is an unprecedented addition to our security that will sharpen Israel, qualitatively wonderful qualitative military edge that we have committed to, that military edge.