Ahead of his visit to Israel, the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks with the Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs, Ron Dermer on Wednesday. Blinken offered condolences for the innocent lives lost in the Hamas terror attacks and reiterated the support of the US for Israels right to defend itself and its citizens against terrorist attacks.Taking to X, Blinken posted, “I spoke with Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs @AmbDermer to reiterate our profound condolences for the terrorist attack on Israel. I reiterated our support for Israels right to defend itself and its citizens against terrorist attacks.”I spoke with Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs @AmbDermer to reiterate our profound condolences for the terrorist attack on Israel. I reiterated our support for Israels right to defend itself and its citizens against terrorist attacks.— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) October 11, 2023 Blinken to visit IsraelMeanwhile, Blinken is scheduled to leave for Israel today “to engage our Israeli partners directly about the situation on the ground”, the US said on Tuesday.“Secretary of State Antony J Blinken will travel to Israel and Jordan October 11-13, 2023, where he will meet with senior officials,” the State Department informed through a statement.“The Secretary will also reaffirm the United States solidarity with the government and the people of Israel,” the statement added.Addressing a press briefing on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the State Department, Matthew Miller said, “Id like to announce that Secretary Blinken will be travelling to Israel in the coming days to engage our Israeli partners directly about the situation on the ground and how we can continue to best support them in their fight against the terrorists who launched these horrific attacks.”“Our support for Israel is unwavering, and 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.US military aid to IsraelOn the other hand, the first military aid from the US arrived on Tuesday on a plane, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said. “The first plane carrying US armaments has since arrived at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel this evening,” posted IDF on X.🇮🇱🤝🇺🇸The first plane carrying U.S. armaments has since arrived at the Nevatim Airbase in southern Israel this evening. The cooperation between our militaries is a key part of ensuring regional security and stability in times of war.— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) October 11, 2023 However, the kind of weapons that they received has not been revealed by the IDF. As the ongoing war on Hamas raged on, the Biden administration began delivering munitions to Israel this week. In the post shared on X, IDF further stated, “The cooperation between our militaries is a key part of ensuring regional security and stability in times of war.”In the Hamas attack that started on Saturday, more than 1,000 Israelis and around 900 Palestinians have been killed so far. Dozens more have been taken hostage by the terrorist group.According to IDF, over 4,500 rockets have been fired from Gaza so far into Israel.
