Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
What You Need To Know About Biden's Wartime Trip To Israel
President Biden greets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport on Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv.
(
Evan Vucci
/
AP
)
President Biden is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv on Wednesday as the White House shows solidarity with its chief ally in the Middle East after Hamas killed some 1,400 Israelis during an Oct. 7 attack.
What we know so far
-
Death toll and casualties
- Israeli officials report an attack by Hamas militants on Oct. 7 killed about 1,200 people. In addition, they say about 250 people were taken hostage, some have since been released.
- Gaza health officials have reported more than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli airstrikes.
— NPR (Jan. 24)
But the trip became more fraught after an explosion at a busy Gaza hospital killed hundreds of people, shortly before Biden left Washington. Biden had initially planned to stop in Amman, Jordan after Tel Aviv to meet with three key leaders about humanitarian aid for Gaza. But that part of the trip was called off.
Here's what you should know about Biden's visit.
Support for LAist comes from
Why isn't Biden going to Amman now?
Biden has been originally scheduled to carry on to Amman after Tel Aviv to meet with Jordan's King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
The purpose was to discuss efforts to get humanitarian aid into Gaza — something that has become a growing concern as the territory runs out of food, water and medical supplies. Civilians — including American citizens in Gaza — have been unable to leave through the Rafah crossing into Egypt.
But then an explosion at a hospital in Gaza killed hundreds of people. Palestinian authorities accused Israel, while Israel said a Palestinian militant group was responsible.
Abbas cancelled his meeting with Biden, and called for three days of mourning. Biden said he would postpone the visit after he talked to King Abdullah.
Sitting beside Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, Biden said he was "deeply saddened and outraged by the explosion."
"Based on what I've seen, it appears as though it was done by the other team — not you — but there's a lot of people out there not sure, so we've got to overcome a lot of things," Biden said.
Support for LAist comes from
President Biden speaks as he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv.
(
Evan Vucci
/
AP
)
What does Biden hope to accomplish in Tel Aviv?
Biden has taken a strong pro-Israel stance after the Hamas attacks, saying that it was the most deadly attack on Jewish people since the Holocaust, and that Israel has a right to defend itself. Kirby said 31 U.S. citizens were among the dead and 13 Americans remain unaccounted for.
Biden wants to get an update from Israeli military officials on their strategy and the pace of their operations when he meets with Netanyahu and his war cabinet, Kirby said. The trip comes as Israel prepares for a ground offensive in Gaza, and Biden wants to learn more about the objectives and plans for coming days and weeks, Kirby said.
"He'll be asking some tough questions - he'll be asking them as a friend, as a true friend of Israel but he'll be asking some questions of them," Kirby said.
At the same time, Biden has pledged support for Israel in its war against Hamas, and is expected to ask Congress later this week to provide funding for additional military aid to Israel.
Biden also hopes to get more information about efforts to locate and free hostages taken during the attacks, a handful of whom are believed to be American citizens. Biden will meet with people who lost loved ones during the attacks, as well as first responders, Kirby said.
Support for LAist comes from
What about humanitarian aid for people in Gaza?
Biden's team has been pressing Israel and Egypt to allow food, water and medicine into Gaza — and to let civilians out. On the way to Tel Aviv, Kirby expressed some optimism that could happen soon.
The Rafah crossing is effectively the only option for Palestinians to leave Gaza, and for any aid to come in. Food, water and medicine are already extremely scarce in Gaza, and the dire conditions have worsened in the last week. Hospitals are running out of electricity and are struggling to treat the thousands of injured, many of whom are children.
In the meantime, there are reports that Israel has been bombing the Rafah crossing region, damaging many of the roads, which makes it unclear how the aid will be distributed even if the Rafah crossing is opened.
A huge banner in Tel Aviv marking President Biden's visit.
(
Gil Cohen-Magen
/
AFP via Getty Images
)
How dangerous is this visit for Biden?
The White House is providing less public information about the trip than usual because of the risks of traveling to the region right now. During Blinken's visit to Tel Aviv, sirens went off as a warning of new rocket attacks, and the secretary was moved to a bunker for about five minutes.
Support for LAist comes from
But Biden has visited war zones before, including a trip to Ukraine in February. That travel wasn't revealed until the president was on the ground in Kyiv.
Kirby has said Tel Aviv is not being actively targeted in the same way that Kyiv was at the time of Biden's visit.
Understanding how we got here
-
The history of this region is both complicated and fraught. Here is some context about what led up to the most recent attacks and counterattacks.
-
NPR's Aya Batrawy and Daniel Estrin called the initial attack "one of the most dramatic escalations in violence in recent memory" adding there are "concerns the chaos could spread to the occupied West Bank and different countries in the Middle East."
-
- This round of bloodshed began with a surprise attack by Palestinian fighters from Gaza into Israel during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah. On Oct. 7, militants infiltrated Israel's border using paragliders, motorbikes and boats and fired thousands of rockets toward the country from Gaza.
-
NPR's Fatima Al-Kassab reported on the history of the Gaza Strip. Some key excerpts:
-
- The Gaza Strip is a 25-mile-long by 6-mile-wide enclave, bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Israel to the north and east and Egypt to the south.
- Gaza is one of two Palestinian territories. The other is the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
- The strip has been under a blockade by Israel and Egypt, restricting the movement of people and goods since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. Israel controls its airspace and shoreline, as well as what goods can cross Gaza's borders.
-
NPR's Fatma Tanis examined how we got here and what might come next in this longstanding conflict.
-
For anyone looking for guidance on how to talk to children about this war:
-
Here's the latest on a growing movement on college campuses nationwide, as students organize against Israel's war in Gaza.
-
Copyright 2024 NPR. To see more, visit npr.org.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
If approved, the more than 62-acre project would include 50 housing lots and a marina less than a mile from Jackie and Shadow's famous nest overlooking the lake. -
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted limits on immigration sweeps in Southern California, overturning a lower court ruling that prohibited agents from stopping people based on their appearance.
-
Censorship has long been controversial. But lately, the issue of who does and doesn’t have the right to restrict kids’ access to books has been heating up across the country in the so-called culture wars.
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity.
-
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
Best of LAist