Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. stands squarely by Israel and will ensure it “has what it needs to defend itself” after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared w…
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. stands squarely by Israel and will ensure it “has what it needs to defend itself” after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war against Palestinian militants that launched a surprise attack on his country.
Austin said in a statement he was “closely monitoring developments in Israel” and extended his condolences to families of the victims who lost their lives in the Saturday attack.
“Our commitment to Israel’s right to defend itself remains unwavering,” Austin said. “Over the coming days the Department of Defense will work to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself and protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism.”
The U.S. is one of Israel’s staunchest allies and has provided around $3.8 billion a year to the country.
Netanyahu declared war on Saturday against Palestinian militant groups after Hamas launched a surprise, multi-frontal attack inside Israel.
Militants launched more than 2,000 missiles and stormed Israel from multiple directions after infiltrating the border.
I'll speak for myself but I'm not against the Israeli people other than the settlers. Israel keeps grabbing up Palestinian land and moving settlers in. It's already an apartheid state situation. What Hamas did today was terrible, and Israel did what it always does- blow up civilians. Hamas and the increasingly dictatorial government of Israel are both shitty, but Israel provoked this shit by backing desperate people into a corner.
Personally I'm not against Israel specifically, just any Etho/religious state, any state commiting war crimes, any state commiting genocide and any colonialist power.
After seeing videos recorded by militants themselves, it is really hard to support Palestine. It looks like likely Gaza strip (controlled by Hamas) might be no more after this and there might be little international opposition.
I think Hamas fucked Palestinians hard with this move.
I normally don't support Israel, but there's no way I support this.
Good point, maybe that's all there is to it, and I'm reading too much into it. I stumbled over sentences like this one:
“Over the coming days the Department of Defense will work to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself and protect civilians [...]”
That seems to imply Israel currently, without benevolent help, does not have what it needs, and cannot protect it's own civilians. The wording can be seen as a way to stylize Israel as a dependent weakling. Also note they talk about a proactive, unilateral action. US takes steps to ensure that Israel can defend itself. That's quite different from coming to help, or offering assistance.
There are other ways to react and phrase things. They could firmly reassure their ally of their unconditional support by offering it, whenever Israel wants to request it. Maybe even prepare steps but emphasize it's Israel's call. While expressing confidence Israel is well equipped to deal with the situation.
But maybe the servant role does not sell so well to the domestic audience. Again, I don't know. I just found this odd.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the U.S. stands squarely by Israel and will ensure it “has what it needs to defend itself” after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war against Palestinian militants that launched a surprise attack on his country.
Austin said in a statement he was “closely monitoring developments in Israel” and extended his condolences to families of the victims who lost their lives in the Saturday attack.
“Over the coming days the Department of Defense will work to ensure that Israel has what it needs to defend itself and protect civilians from indiscriminate violence and terrorism.”
Netanyahu declared war on Saturday against Palestinian militant groups after Hamas launched a surprise, multi-frontal attack inside Israel.
The U.S. has condemned the recent violence and White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has discussed the situation with his counterpart.
The latest clashes come after decades of violence between Palestine and Israel, which has only picked up in recent months following more controversial policies under Netanyahu’s far-right government against Palestinian communities.
The original article contains 237 words, the summary contains 170 words. Saved 28%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!