US Warns Israel’s Enemies: United States Can Support Ukraine, Israel At Same Time
By Worthy News’ George Whitten and Stefan J. Bos
TEL AVIV/JERUSALEM (Worthy News) – U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin warned enemies of Israel on Friday that the United States is powerful enough to support war-torn Ukraine and the Jewish nation.
He landed on Israeli soil nearly a week after Palestinian Hamas launched a surprise assault that killed more than 1,300 men, women, and children in Israel and raised questions about its intelligence gathering.
“For anyone thinking about trying to take advantage of this atrocity, to try to widen the conflict or to spill more blood, we have just one word: don’t. The world is watching, and so are we, and we aren’t going anywhere,” Austin said.
He spoke amid concerns among critics that the billions of dollars spent on supporting Ukraine’s fight against invading Russia has distracted the U.S. from priorities elsewhere in the world.
However, Austin said that “the US can walk and chew gum at the same time.” He spoke after meeting Israel’s prime minister and minister of defense at the Israel Defense Force (IDF) headquarters in Tel Aviv.
Speaking about Palestinian militant group Hamas’s assault on southern Israel and the IDF’s criticized counterattack in Gaza, he said: “This is no time for neutrality or false equivalence.”
EVIL GROUP
Austin stressed that Hamas is an evil group that Israel and the IDF should never be compared to when responding in self-defense. “I know ISIS very well, and it’s worse than what I’ve seen with ISIS,” he added, referring to the Islamic State group.
Austin said Hamas has “nothing to offer but zealotry, bigotry, and death,” noting this past Saturday was “the bloodiest since the Holocaust,” also known as Shoah, for Jews worldwide.
His visit came after John Kirby, spokesman for the U.S. National Security Council, confirmed earlier Worthy News reports that the aircraft carrier USS Dwight Eisenhower is making its way to the Mediterranean Sea.
Kirby said they will be available as needed as the U.S. increases its military support for Israel, which battles Hamas and other militants and warns neighbors to stay out of the conflict.
America’s USS Gerald R. Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, and its accompanying ships, some of which have nuclear capabilities, have already arrived in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea to support Israel, Worthy News learned.
The ‘USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group’ is also to deter regional powers from joining the war between Hamas and Israel, the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) said Tuesday.
ONGOING CLASHES
On Friday, Austin discussed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant further U.S. military aid to Israel amid the fighting in Gaza, officials said.
At a news conference with Gallant, Austin told reporters that U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration will ensure Israel has everything it needs to defend itself.
He also said the U.S. supplied Israel with munitions, air defense capabilities, and interceptors for the Iron Dome system. “U.S. military assistance to Israel is flowing in at the speed of war.”
After the press conference in Tel Aviv, Austin, and Gallant visited an Israeli air force base where U.S. weapons were delivered Friday.
Gallant made clear that Israel would use the weapons to “topple Hamas rule in Gaza. We will eliminate its military capability. We will make sure this threat doesn’t exist on our border. It will take time, and it will be lethal, powerful, and forever.”
Austin said the U.S. supports the Israeli military operation but cautioned that civilians shouldn’t be targeted. “It is time for resolve and not for revenge.” He said that, unlike Hamas, democracies must fight according to the rule of law and try to avoid civilian casualties.
Austin made clear his love for Israel, saying: “I wanted to be here in person. There is something personal here. Our support for Israel is ironclad. What a friend needs to do sometimes is just show up.”
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