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US President Joe Biden Sunday said Israel has the right to defend itself. And the US must make sure they have what they need to protect their people today and always.
“At the same time, Prime Minister Netanyahu and I have discussed how Israel must operate by the laws of war. That means protecting civilians in combat as best as they can, the US president said.
“We can’t ignore the humanity of innocent Palestinians who only want to live in peace. That’s why I secured an agreement for the first shipment of humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians in Gaza,” he added
“And we cannot give up on a two-state solution”.
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have said that the United States did not want to see the Israel-Hamas war escalating to the wider region, Reuters reported.
The report said Blinken told NBC News actions by Iran and its proxies could spark an escalation and that the United States hoped for more hostages to be released by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, which attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and killed about 1,400 people.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned against any “escalation” in the Middle East in the wake of Israel’s war with Hamas, hours after the Pentagon moved to step up military readiness in the region, AFP reported.
Austin said the US has seen a “prospect of significant escalation of attacks on our troops” in the region. The US military was preparing for “the ability to respond,” he added.
“If any group or any country is looking to widen this conflict and take advantage of this very unfortunate situation that we see, our advice is: don’t,” Austin told ABC News.
“We maintain the right to defend ourselves and we won’t hesitate to take the appropriate action,” he added.
Austin’s comments came hours after the Pentagon said it was upping readiness in the region in response to “recent escalations by Iran and its proxy forces,” reported the agency.
Austin ordered the activation of air defense systems and notified additional forces that they may be deployed soon.
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Updated: 22 Oct 2023, 08:29 PM IST
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