Blinken arrives in Tel Aviv: "The United States stands with Israel and we will always be against terrorism"

Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, arrived in Tel Aviv this morning to convey the support of the United States Government to the Israeli authorities. During his visit, he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, President Isaac Herzog, and senior members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

"I am in Israel today to make one thing clear: the United States stands with Israel and its people, and we will always be - resolutely - against terrorism," the Secretary of State wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) account.

Blinken departed from Andrews Air Force Base, located in Maryland. Upon his arrival in Israel and accompanied by a strong security detail, he was received by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Eli Cohen, who thanked the federal Administration and the Americans for the support they are giving them:

Hours before his arrival, Blinken held conversations with Herzog and with the Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer, to reaffirm the commitment that the United States has with Israel:

Meeting with Netanyahu

At noon, Blinken and Netanyahu met in Tel Aviv. At the end of the meeting, they held a press appearance in which the U.S. Secretary of State again reiterated his support for Israel.

The Israeli Prime Minister reciprocated with thanks. "Thank you for your important visit here today. Thank you, thanks to President Biden, and thank you to the American people for your incredible support for Israel in our war against the barbarians of Hamas," Netanyahu stated. "Hamas has shown itself to be an enemy of civilization. The massacring of young people at an outdoor music festival, the butchering of entire families, the murder of parents in front of their children and the murder of children in front of their parents. The burning of people alive. The beheadings. The kidnappings – of a young boy, not only kidnapped, molested, hurt, attacked. President Biden was absolutely correct in calling this sheer evil."

The Israeli prime minister added that "Hamas is ISIS, and just as ISIS was crushed, so too should Hamas be crushed. And Hamas should be treated exactly as ISIS was treated."

The press appearance ended with a handshake and a hug as a sign of America's strong commitment to Israel.