The Biden administration has dispatched one of its top diplomats, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Israel, in an urgent mission to support the war-torn country. Bliken will be leaving on Wednesday, as per the statement of the State Department on Tuesday.The U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Secretary of State Antony Blinken would travel in the coming days to deliver a message of solidarity and support. He said Blinken will also “talk about what additional resources we can give them”.#WATCH | State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller says, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Israel in the coming days to engage our Israeli partners directly about the situation on the ground and to navigate how the US can continue to support them. The… pic.twitter.com/ideAHjqhCj— ANI (@ANI) October 10, 2023 Blinken in Israel“Secretary of State Antony J Blinken will travel to Israel and Jordan October 11-13, 2023, where he will meet with senior officials,” said the US Department of State in a statement.“The Secretary will also reaffirm the United States solidarity with the government and people of Israel,” the statement said.Mathew further added He, of course, wants to hear from the leaders of Israel, hear from them directly about the situation theyre facing … about what they need and how we can best support them.”Apart from this both Miller and Biden will also be travelling to Israel on Thursday, as per media reports.American hostages held amid war Meanwhile, National Security Adviser of the US, Jake Sullivan said it was unclear how many American citizens were taken hostage on Tuesday.“We do not know about their condition, and we cannot confirm a precise number of American citizens. We will work hour by hour, both to determine whether we can account for any of those Americans, or to confirm exactly what the number of Americans are being held hostage, and we will come back to you with that information as soon as we have it,” Sullivan said.“As you know, very sadly and tragically, the number of dead has risen with each passing hour, and thats true of the total number, its also true of Americans, which has gone up just today from an earlier report this morning of 12 and 13 – now 14…,” he added.President Joe Biden had earlier confirmed the death of 13 Americans in the Hamas attack on Israel but also added that there were more US hostages in Israel.Israel-Palestine warHamas launched a full-fledged attack on Israel on Saturday that has killed hundreds of people till now including both Israelis and Palestinians, dozens more have been taken hostage. According to an Israeli official between 100 and 150 hostages are believed held in Gaza.Overall, more than 1,000 people have died in Israel, according to Israel Army Radio, and 900 people have died in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, media reports suggest.
