Amid warnings of a full scale war, Biden administration dispatches envoy to Middle East Deirdre Shesgreen, USA TODAY
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WASHINGTON – The Biden administration dispatched a top State Department diplomat to the Middle East immediately to try to de-escalate the deadly conflict between Israel and Hamas, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Wednesday.
President Joe Biden faces growing pressure to help stem the violence and heightened international alarm over the spiraling death toll. The United Nations special coordinator for the Middle East, Tor Wennesland, warned on Wednesday that the situation is escalating toward full scale war.
More than 80 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting, including 17 children and seven women, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, and another 480 people have been wounded. Hamas, the Islamic militant group that seized power in Gaza in 2007, acknowledged that a top commander and several o
Pentagon Promises ‘Ironclad Support’ of Israel Amid Conflict With Palestinians
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on May 12 stressed the United States’ “ironclad support” for Israel’s right to defend itself amid a military conflict with Hamas, according to a statement from the Pentagon.
The statement comes as Israeli officials said that 16 members of Hamas’s armed wing were killed by airstrikes coming after Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists fired numerous rockets into Israel.
Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby confirmed that Austin spoke with Israeli Minister of Defense Benny Gantz on May 12.
“Austin conveyed the Department’s ironclad support for Israel’s legitimate right to defend itself and its people,” Kirby said.
We are deeply engaged across the board, from the State Department to the White House, Blinken said.
Biden has not nominated an ambassador to Israel, and the Trump administration closed the U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem, which had served as the White House s main channel of communication to the Palestinians.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki did not answer questions Wednesday about whether the administration will reopen that diplomatic facility. She said Biden would nominate a qualified, experienced ambassador to Israel in the coming weeks, and the administration has made 25 high-level calls on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, 10 of which took place yesterday.