News - US fears ‘provocative strike’ by Hamas in event of Biden visit to Israel

The Biden administration is considering a presidential visit to Israel as a sign of support for the country following the brutal attack by Hamas, Politico reported. Two U.S. officials, granted anonymity to detail sensitive internal discussions, said President Joe Biden could land in Israel as early as this week. But they stress a trip might not happen any time soon, or at all, depending on the security situation in Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited Biden to visit Israel when the two men spoke on Saturday. Biden has told aides he’s interested in going, as his presence would demonstrate strong U.S. support to Israel. But the likelihood of escalating hostilities could mean that any future trip occurs during a particularly precarious point in the developing war. White House aides note Biden has made daring trips before, namely his visit to Kyiv in February. That visit was considered by many aides to be one of the highlights of his presidency. But while the trip to Ukraine’s capital involved a secret 10-hour train ride, one to Israel would, in some ways, be even more complicated. Hamas, a group the United States has designated a terrorist organization, would be more likely to take a provocative strike at a traveling president, according to one of the officials. And a visit of U.S. senators to Tel Aviv this week underscored the danger. The group of lawmakers, which included Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, had to seek refuge in a bomb shelter when warning sirens blared. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, however, did visit Israel in the last week without significant complications. The debate about the trip would also come against the backdrop of the Biden administration’s growing worry over the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza amid Israel’s heavy bombardment and siege of the enclave. There is an expectation that Israel will mount a ground offensive in the coming days, with experts predicting that weeks of urban warfare would inevitably lead to the deaths of thousands of innocent civilians. Officials in Gaza say that more than 2,600 Palestinians have already been killed in Israel’s retribution strikes over the past week.