After visiting seven hours in the Israeli battle zone, US President returned for home, leaving the region in far worse condition than when he arrived.
Reporters aboard Air Force One were told by Biden that he was satisfied with the work he had completed, particularly the task of delivering humanitarian material to occupied Gaza, which has been subjected to intense Israeli bombing since the horrendous terror assaults carried out by Hamas on October 7.
His visit, however, also demonstrated the limits of US influence in a region on the verge of larger unrest, as divergent accounts of a Gaza City hospital explosion that is thought to have declared hundreds of lives raised tensions between Israel and Arab governments.
One of the president’s main objectives was accomplished when he pledged to stand eternally with the Jewish people, movably took on the agony and sadness of the nation and expressed his profound respect for Israel.
However, he also urged Israeli officials to keep their objectives in seeking to destroy Hamas straight from being clouded by their anger for the loss of “your fathers, your grandparents, sons, daughters, children, even babies.”
The president lamented the “innocent” lives lost in Gaza following days of Israeli shelling and established a clear contrast between the Palestinian people and their extreme Hamas leadership, condemning them of exploiting civilians as human shields for weapons and tunnels.
However, when Biden boarded Air Force One to go back home on Wednesday, the serious possibility that Israel’s conflict with Hamas would spread outside its boundaries became even more apparent as protests over the hospital explosion swept the area. While admitting that his emergency expedition had been risky, the president emphasized to reporters that he had succeeded.
However, given the major political cost in terms of American reputation and power associated with an unexpected presidential visit, it is fair to wonder what exactly Biden’s trip achieved.
Even if the Jordan stop was a hoax, Biden knew that he had to attend. Spokesperson for the National Security Council John Kirby stated, “There is still a pretty robust agenda of things to get done in Tel Aviv,” during the flight to Israel.
Following his visit and the diplomatic negotiations that preceded it, Israeli officials announced they would permit humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. Later, Biden would confirm that Egypt had let the entry of 20 relief vehicles into the enclave. He got praise from Israel’s followers for standing solidly with the nation, which was highlighted by a heartfelt embrace with Netanyahu that will undoubtedly remain as the lasting memory of the brief visit.
US President’s Goals:
The trip’s more ambitious goals were dashed after a bombing on Tuesday at a hospital in Gaza, which Palestinian officials claimed hundreds of lives, triggered unrest across several Arab countries. The president’s high-stakes trip was delayed, but it was exactly the kind of incident he had intended to prevent by visiting the area. Biden supported Israeli charges that an Islamic Jihad missile that misfired and was fired toward Israel was the source of the explosion, citing US intelligence as support for this theory.
However, the outrage that the blast caused throughout the Arab world—where there is strong dissatisfaction over the long-term treatment of the Palestinian people and little faith in the claims made by the US or Israeli governments—was not significantly lessened by inquiries into the explosion’s origins.
Biden’s journey to Amman, where he was supposed to have meetings with the president of Egypt, the leader of the Palestinian Authority, and Jordan’s King Abdullah II, had to be delayed owing to the tragedy.
Rather than providing as the venue for a presidential conference, Amman was rocked on Wednesday by massive demonstrations that lasted into the night and solidified Arab nations’ resentment of Israel’s bombardment of Gaza. There were extra protests in Lebanon, the occupied West Bank, Iraq, Tunisia, and Iran.
Americans were advised by the US State Department not to travel to Lebanon, and the growing public discontent over the Gaza situation seemed to harden the stances of important regional countries. For example, in a post on X, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan characterized the explosion at the hospital as the “latest example of Israel’s attacks devoid of the most basic human values” and urged “all humanity to step up action to avert this terrible brutality in Gaza.”
Also Read: US Sanctions 10 Hamas Members and Their Financial Network for the Unexpected Attack on Israel
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