With President Joe Biden traveling to Israel, major problems arise in arranging the trip in both security and politics.
The White House announced Biden’s visit to Israel on Monday, October 16. Biden plans to travel to Israel on Wednesday, October 18. The purpose of the visit is to show that the US is willing to take risks to help Israel in its war with Hamas.
With Biden and Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, both supporting Israel’s war efforts against Hamas, stating that if they were seen blowing up Hamas buildings and retaliating, global public sentiment for their efforts would quickly decrease.
“The critical need for humanitarian assistance to get into Gaza, as well as the ability for innocent people to get out,” John F. Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council said in a briefing about Biden’s journey to Israel. “We obviously don’t want to see any additional civilian suffering.”
Similar to the trip to Ukraine, Biden hopes to inspire and push Israel’s war efforts and discuss how the US could assist Israel. The visit has two goals: to show international support for Israel and to warn those who oppose Israel. However, just the week before the announcement, Blinken was meeting with Mr. Netanyahu, the first prime minister to be born in Israel after it declared independence when the meeting was interrupted by the sound of sirens warning of an incoming attack of rockets or missiles. The Prime minister and Blinken both managed to get inside a bunker and were safe from the missile impact.
Eventually, the physical risks were considered low enough for the president to travel.