The US is investigating reports of Americans killed or captured in the Israel-Gaza war, says Antony Blinken
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that the US had received reports of Americans killed or detained in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Gaza and vowed that rescuing all citizens held in both countries would be a domestic priority.
“We have reports that several Americans have been killed. We are working overtime to check this,” Blinken said on CNN State of the nation. “At the same time, there are reports of missing Americans and, again, we are working to verify these reports.”
Blinken reiterated his promise to review reports Meet the press And Face the nation. According to reports, violence in Israel and Gaza has left hundreds dead and thousands injured since Saturday The New York Times, when Hamas terrorists launched air, land and sea attacks on Israeli cities and took scores of soldiers and citizens hostage. Israel responded with bombing raids along the Gaza Strip and its security cabinet explained On Sunday there is a state of war.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the U.S. was working “overtime” to verify reports of Americans kidnapped or killed in Israel or the Gaza Strip.
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Blinken described the conflict as “the worst attack on Israel since the Yom Kippur War in 1973” and said he has been in constant contact with the Israeli government since the attacks began. “We have been on the phone with the entire government over the last 24 hours, involving everyone in the region and far beyond, to ensure that there is support for Israel and to ensure that every country makes every effort to withdraw and close Hamas “This prevents escalation,” said Blinken.
The minister decided not to talk about the intelligence failures that led to the surprise attack on Israel, he told the ABC This week that “there will be time” to conduct an autopsy. But the immediate focus must be on deterring Hamas militants, he said – despite the close relationship between US and Israeli intelligence services, neither of which appeared to have foreseen the ambush.
“The intensity of the fighting is real,” Blinken told George Stephanopoulos. “And we had about 1,000 Hamas fighters who infiltrated Israel, most of whom appear to have either been killed or returned to Gaza. But as I said, the intensification remains. So that is the focus, and the focus is also on taking steps to ensure to the best of our ability for Israel that something like this does not happen again.”
