By Chimaobi Afiauwa, Abuja
President Joe Biden of the United States of America has landed in Israel in what is a solidarity visit to the Jewish country amidst the ongoing war between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza region of Palestine.
MUK TV understands that Biden’s visit to Israel, which is America’s closest ally in the Middle East, is to demonstrate strong support for the country while exploring diplomatic options to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from expanding into a larger conflict in the ever-volatile region.
“He’ll be asking some tough questions. He’ll be asking them as a friend, as a true friend of Israel, but he will be asking some questions of them,” said John Kirby, a White House spokesman for national security issues.
This visit, however, comes a day after an Israeli airstrike killed about 500 people at Al-Ahi Baptist Hospital in the city of Gaza, making it one of the most complicated diplomatic trips of Biden’s presidency.
As CNN reports, his historic arrival in wartime Tel Aviv on Wednesday was the first trip to Israel by an American president during a time of war.
“Americans are grieving with you; they really are. And Americans are worried,” Biden told Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they began a bilateral meeting, acknowledging the complex dynamic. “Because we know this is not an easy field to navigate, what do you have to do?”
Since the beginning of the Isreal-Hamas war that started two weeks ago following Hamas’ attack on unarmed Israelis that killed 260 people, about 3,000 people have been killed at both ends, including American citizens.
