Israel Prepares for Biden’s Arrival as War With Hamas Continues

Leaders in Israel vow to eradicate Hamas' ability to attack Israel again and its ability to rule in the Gaza Strip

As the 11th day of the war between Israel and Hamas concludes, Jerusalem is preparing for the arrival of American President Joe Biden on Wednesday. At a press conference on Tuesday, Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen expressed gratitude to President Biden, the Chancellor of Germany Olaf Scholz, Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu, and all the European officials that have visited or will visit the country.

Cohen also spoke of conversations the Foreign Ministry is conducting with leaders of various countries, among them, “Arab and Muslim countries that share the same threats from Iran and radical Islamist terror organizations.”

America’s support has been praised by many other Israeli officials, too. Tzachi Hanegbi, Israel’s national security adviser, commented on it on Tuesday; after thanking President Biden for the historic visit to Israel in this time of war, he said, “There is no ally more faithful” than the US. About military aid, he said that it is not only positive but also necessary in order to comply with all the tasks needed for the war.

Two American aircraft carriers have been moved by the American military to strategic positions in case the war escalates and they need to be deployed. The USS Gerald R. Ford, the biggest aircraft carrier in the world, is sited in front of the Lebanese coast, and the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower is on its way to the Persian Gulf, explained Hanegbi.

The president is practically transmitting a message to our enemies that if they think of joining the attack against Israeli civilians, there will be an American involvement. Israel will not be alone.

“The president is practically transmitting a message to our enemies that if they think of joining the attack against Israeli civilians, there will be an American involvement. Israel will not be alone,” he stressed. 

In terms of Israel’s counteroffensive against Hamas, Cohen said that Israel has so far, eliminated more than 1,000 terrorists, “among them senior commanders whose hands are covered with blood.”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken sat with the Israeli cabinet on Monday while, according to Hanegbi, Prime Minister Netanyahu and the cabinet’s ministers presented him with Israel’s plan for a counteroffensive against Hamas.

He stressed that Israel is asking Gazans from the north of the strip to evacuate to the south, where, Hanegbi said, they will receive humanitarian aid under the condition that the aid reaches the citizens and not Hamas.

However, he added, “Hamas is trying to prevent that population from going to the south. They are using them as human shields.”

On that, Cohen said to the Gaza citizens from the north of the strip, “Move from the north of Gaza. We do not target families. … We attack places where Hamas is hiding.”

As Israeli leaders have stated numerous times, the country’s main goal for this war is to eradicate Hamas’ and the Islamic Jihad’s military and governmental abilities. “We want to finish the campaign so that they will not exist as a military body, [nor] as a governmental body, or as a relevant body that threatens the life of our civilians. Not in the Gaza envelope and not in all of Israel.”

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Peter Lerner, spokesman of the Israeli Army, said that the campaign has three components, which are: securing civilian areas around Gaza, reconstructing the barrier itself, and striking the terrorist infrastructure that Hamas has built during the last 18 years.

Lerner said that more than 300,000 reservists have been recruited to the Israeli army and are waiting for a green light for mobilization in case it is necessary. “We are preparing for a potential ground operation,” he said, adding that whether it happens or not depends on the government’s decision.

Regarding Israel’s northern border, he continued, “We are seeing a trend of escalation in the last few days.” Lerner added that Israel is ready and has the ability to fight simultaneously on two fronts—or more.

Hanegbi said that the government is putting great effort into freeing the hostages (there were at least 199 people kidnapped on October 7) who Hamas and other terror organizations have taken into the Gaza Strip. “We won’t quit,” he added.