Israel-Hamas War: US Clarifies Iran Link, Biden’s ‘Don’t’ Warning. Top Updates
US National Security Advisor (NSA) Jake Sullivan on Tuesday (local time) said the White House can not confirm the condition or the precise number of American citizens held hostage by Hamas militants.
Sullivan said more than 20 US nationals are currently unaccounted for, but stressed that it does not necessarily mean they are all held hostage by Hamas.
“We do not know about their condition, and we cannot confirm a precise number of American citizens,” he said, adding, “We believe that there are 20 or more Americans who, at this point, are missing, but I want to underscore and stress that does not necessarily mean that there are 20 more American hostages.”
The National Security Advisor assured the press and the American public that the government was working tirelessly to gather the most accurate information. “We will work hour by hour, both to determine whether we can account for any of those Americans or to confirm exactly what the number of Americans being held hostage is, and we will come back to you with that information as soon as we have it.”
On concerns and speculation about the potential involvement of Iran in a recent attack on Israel, Sullivan said, “I laid out our view, which is the broad complicity based on the longstanding support that Hamas is giving to Iran.
He, however, clarified, that the United States currently lacks specific information linking Iran to the recent attack.
“We don’t have specific information that ties Iran to this attack. At this time, we don’t have that information. We may gain that information in the hours and days ahead, but we don’t presently have it…”
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller announced that Secretary of State Antony Blinken is set to travel to Israel in the coming days to engage directly with Israeli officials and address the situation on the ground.
“The secretary looks forward to meeting with senior leaders in the Israeli government and continuing the discussions he and the president have been having with them since the initial attacks on Saturday,” he added.
The militant Hamas rulers of the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel Saturday. More than 1,000 Israelis have been killed in the war on Hamas, the Israeli Defense Forces said in the latest operational update, up from 900 previously reported. Over 2,800 Israelis have been injured and 2,294 Hamas targets struck, the IDF added in a post at 12:30 am (1900 GMT) Tuesday.
Israel launched heavy retaliatory airstrikes on the enclave, killing hundreds of Palestinians, and stopped entry of food, fuel and medicines into Gaza. The war, which has claimed at least 1,900 lives on both sides, is expected to escalate.
US President Joe Biden on Tuesday continued to condemn the attack by Hamas, calling it an act of “pure unadulterated evil.”
“In this moment, we must be crystal clear: We stand with Israel. We stand with Israel,” he said.
Biden warned adversaries not to take advantage of the crisis. “I have one word: Don’t. Don’t.”