“There are moments in this life ... when the pure, unadulterated evil is unleashed on this world,” declared President Joe Biden when describing the October 8 terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel.
“This was an act of sheer evil. More than 1,000 civilians slaughtered — not just killed, slaughtered — in Israel. Among them, at least 14 American citizens killed,” he said.
“There are still so many families desperately waiting to hear the fate of their loved ones, not knowing if they’re alive or dead or hostages,” said President Biden. “Infants in their mothers’ arms, grandparents in wheelchairs, Holocaust survivors abducted and held hostage — hostages whom Hamas has now threatened to execute in violation of every code of human morality.”
“Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination,” declared President Biden:
“Its stated purpose is the annihilation of the State of Israel and the murder of Jewish people. They use Palestinian civilians as human shields. Hamas offers nothing but terror and bloodshed with no regard to who pays the price.”
The United States is “surging additional military assistance, including ammunition and interceptors to replenish Iron Dome,” said President Biden. “We’re going to make sure that Israel does not run out of these critical assets to defend its cities and its citizens.”
“We now know that American citizens are among those being held by Hamas,” said President Biden:
“I’ve directed my team to share intelligence and deploy additional experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts, because as president I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans being held hostage around the world.”
President Biden stressed again, “to any country, any organization, anyone thinking of taking advantage of this situation, I have one word: Don’t.”
“For 75 years, Israel has stood as the ultimate guarantor of security of Jewish people around the world so that the atrocities of the past could never happen again,” said President Biden. “The United States has Israel’s back. We will make sure the Jewish and democratic State of Israel can defend itself today, tomorrow, as we always have.”
The United States stands with Israel.
