Biden promises ‘rock solid’ support for Israel, Netanyahu vows revenge after deadly Hamas attack

The United States on Saturday condemned the attacks by “Hamas terrorists” against Israel and vowed to ensure the key US ally has the means to defend itself.

President Joe Biden described the assault as “a terrible tragedy on a human level” and said he had spoken to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to underline his support.

“I told him the United States stands with the people of Israel in the face of these terrorist assaults,” Biden said in a televised address from the White House.

“In my administration, support for Israel’s security is rock solid and unwavering.

“We’ll make sure that they have the help their citizens need and they can continue to defend themselves.”

The statement came even as Netanyahu told his stunned nation that “We are at war,” as the Israeli army retaliated by pounding targets in the blockaded enclave of Gaza, where several residential tower blocks were reduced to rubble.

About 80 people were killed in Israel, medical services said, while Gaza authorities released a death toll of 232 in the conflict’s bloodiest escalation in years which also left many hundreds wounded on both sides.

“The enemy will pay an unprecedented price,” Netanyahu vowed after Hamas had launched its first such combined ground, air and sea offensive, half a century after the outbreak of the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.

As the attacks threatened to trigger a wider conflict, Biden also warned “this is not a moment for any party hostile to Israel to exploit these attacks to seek advantage. The world is watching.”

Biden stressed that Israel — which the United States has supplied with billions of dollars of arms — has “a right to defend itself and its people” after the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group Hamas launched air, sea and land strikes.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reaffirmed Washington’s commitment, saying “over the coming days the Department of Defense will work to ensure that Israel has what it needs.”

Trump weighs in

Former US president Donald Trump weighed in Saturday, blaming Biden, without evidence, for indirectly funding the attacks.

“These Hamas attacks are a disgrace and Israel has every right to defend itself with overwhelming force,” Trump said in a statement.

“Sadly, American taxpayer dollars helped fund these attacks, which many reports are saying came from the Biden Administration.”

Trump’s allegations reflected Republican claims that $6 billion released last month to Iran as part of a prisoner exchange deal was used to fund the Hamas attack.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates said on social media that “this is a shameful lie in every respect, at a time when both parties should be totally united in supporting Israel’s defense.”

The money “can only be used for verifiable purchases of humanitarian needs like food and medicine,” Bates added, in a fierce pushback against the claims.

Israel normalized relations decades ago with neighboring Egypt and Jordan and in 2020 added three more Arab states to the list — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco — in what Trump considered his towering foreign policy achievement.

The so-called “Abraham Accords” also included sweeteners from Trump, including a promise to sell jets to the United Arab Emirates.

“We brought so much peace to the Middle East through the Abraham Accords, only to see Biden whittle it away at a far more rapid pace than anyone thought possible,” Trump, who plans to stand against Biden in the 2024 election, said.

Before Saturday’s assault, Biden had been hoping to transform the Middle East — and score a pre-election diplomatic victory — by securing recognition of the Jewish state by Saudi Arabia, the guardian of Islam’s two holiest sites.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Saturday that “this unprecedented and brutal attack by Hamas is not only supported by Iran, it was designed to stop peace efforts between Saudi Arabia and Israel.

“A peace agreement between those two nations would be a nightmare for Iran and Hamas.”

“It would serve Israel and the world well to respond to this outrage by launching an operation that will destroy the Hamas organization — not just contain it,” he added.

Hamas is backed by Iran, a fierce foe of Israel, with Iran’s supreme leader declaring he was “proud” of Saturday’s attacks.

Biden has had recently rocky relations with Netanyahu, publicly criticizing him for overhauling Israel’s judiciary, a step seen by opponents as undermining democracy.

Netanyahu vows revenge

Israeli PM Netanyahu, meanwhile, warned Palestinians living near Hamas sites in Gaza to leave as he vowed to turn its hideouts into “rubble” following its surprise attack.

“All the places in which Hamas is based, in this city of evil, all the places Hamas is hiding in, acting from — we’ll turn them into rubble,” he said.

“I’m telling the people of Gaza: get out of there now, because we’re about to act everywhere with all our force,” he said in a brief televised statement.

The latest conflagration erupted when dozens of Hamas fighters broke out of Gaza Strip and into nearby Israeli towns, killing many and abducting others in an unprecedented surprise early morning attack during a major Jewish holiday.

Netanyahu said the Israeli military will use all of its strength to destroy Hamas’ capabilities. He also vowed to extract a heavy price if “even a single hair” is harmed on the Israeli hostages in Hamas captivity.

Israel has maintained a blockade over Gaza since Hamas seized control of the territory in 2007. The bitter enemies have fought four wars since then.