Blinken, Austin say US is ready to respond if US personnel become targets of Israel-Hamas war
President Joe Biden and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, meet with victims' relatives and first responders who were directly affected by the Hamas attacks, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, in Tel Aviv.
From left, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and President Joe Biden listen during a meeting with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Friday, Oct. 20, 2023, in Washington.
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) 鈥� Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Sunday that the United States expects the Israel-Hamas war to escalate through involvement by proxies of Iran, and they asserted that the Biden administration is prepared to respond if American personnel or armed forces become the target of any such hostilities.
鈥淭his is not what we want, not what we鈥檙e looking for. We don鈥檛 want escalation,鈥� Blinken said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to see our forces or our personnel come under fire. But if that happens, we鈥檙e ready for it.鈥�
Austin, echoing Blinken, said 鈥渨hat we鈥檙e seeing is a prospect of a significant escalation of attacks on our troops and our people throughout the region.鈥�
He said the U.S. has the right to self-defense 鈥渁nd we won鈥檛 hesitate to take the appropriate action.鈥�
The warning from the high-ranking U.S. officials came as Israel鈥檚 military response to a deadly Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on civilians in communities in southern Israel entered its third week.
Israeli warplanes struck targets across Gaza overnight and into Sunday, as well as two airports in Syria and a mosque in the occupied West Bank allegedly used by militants as the war threatened to engulf more of the Middle East.
Israel has traded fire with Lebanon鈥檚 Hezbollah militant group on a near-daily basis since the war began, and tensions are soaring in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces have battled militants in refugee camps and carried out two airstrikes in recent days.
The U.S. announced Sunday that non-essential staff at its embassy in Iraq should leave the country.
Blinken, who recently spent several days in the region, spoke of a 鈥渓ikelihood of escalation鈥� while saying no one wants to see a second or third front to the hostilities between Israel and Hamas, which rules Gaza.
The secretary said he expects 鈥渆scalation by Iranian proxies directed against our forces, directed against our personnel,鈥� and added: 鈥淲e are taking steps to make sure that we can effectively defend our people and respond decisively if we need to.鈥� Iran is an enemy of Israel.
Blinken, appearing on NBC鈥檚 鈥淢eet the Press,鈥� noted that additional military assets had been deployed to the region, including two aircraft carrier battle groups, 鈥渘ot to provoke, but to deter, to make clear that if anyone tries to do anything, we鈥檙e there.鈥�
President Joe Biden, repeatedly has used one word to warn Israel鈥檚 enemies against trying to take advantage of the situation: 鈥淒on鈥檛.鈥�
Meanwhile, trucks loaded with food, water and other supplies that Palestinians living in Gaza desperately need continued to enter the enclave on Sunday after a key crossing at the border with Egypt was opened a day earlier to allow humanitarian assistance to begin flowing.
But Cindy McCain, executive director of the U.N. World Food Program, said the situation in Gaza remained 鈥渃atastrophic.鈥� She said even more aid needs to be allowed in.
She said her organization was able to feed 200,000 people dinner on Saturday 鈥渂ut that鈥檚 not enough. That鈥檚 a drop. We need secure and sustainable access in there, in that region, so we can feed people.鈥�
Four hundred aid trucks were entering Gaza daily before the latest war, she said.
鈥淭his is a catastrophe happening and we just simply have to get these trucks in,鈥� she said.
Biden, who was at his home on the Delaware coast, was briefed by his national security team on the latest developments, the White House said. Biden also discussed the situation during separate conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Pope Francis.
Biden and Netanyahu talked about 鈥渢he need to prevent escalation in the region and to work toward a durable peace in the Middle East,鈥� the White House said. Israel has promised a military ground invasion of Gaza to destroy Hamas.
Biden also convened a call with the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom to discuss the conflict. Among topics discussed, the White House said the leaders committed to working closely to keep the war from spreading, while seeking a political solution.
The State Department on Sunday ordered non-essential U.S. diplomats and their families at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq and the U.S. consulate in Irbil to leave the country due to the heightened tensions. In an updated message to Americans in Iraq, the department said the security situation in Iraq made it impossible to carry out normal operations.
Austin and McCain spoke on ABC鈥檚 鈥淭his Week.鈥�