Appearing Thursday in Tel Aviv with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed the United States’ unwavering support for Israel in its war against Hamas.

“The message that I bring to Israel is this: You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself,” Blinken said. “But as long as America exists, you will never, ever have to. We will always be there by your side.”

What You Need To Know

  • Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed the United States’ unwavering support for Israel in its war against Hamas at a joint press conference Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

  • Blinken said the U.S. is delivering on that promise by supplying ammunition, interceptors for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system and other military equipment

  • The secretary of state assured Israel that there is “overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress” for its security

  • Blinken also confirmed that the number of American citizens killed in the war has risen to 25; the war has claimed at least 2,500 lives on both sides, a number that is expected to rise

"That's the message that President [Joe] Biden delivered to the prime minister from the moment this crisis began," he said. "It's the message that I and my other colleagues in the government have delivered to our Israeli counterparts on a daily, even an hourly basis. It's the message that I bring with me to our discussions today, and it's what I'll affirm when I meet with the members of Israel's newly formed national emergency government. We welcome the government's creation and the unity and resolve that it reflects across Israel's society."

He said he came to Israel not just as the United States' top diplomat, "but also as a Jew. My grandfather fled pogroms in Russia. My stepfather survived concentration camps: Auschwitz, Dachau, Majdanek. I understand harrowing echoes that Hamas massacres carry for Israeli Jews"

Blinken said the U.S. is delivering on that promise by supplying ammunition, interceptors for Israel’s Iron Dome air defense system and other military equipment. The secretary of state assured Israel that there is “overwhelming bipartisan support in Congress” for its security.

"As Israel's security needs evolve, we will work with Congress to make sure they are met," Blinken said.

The secretary of state also confirmed that the number of American citizens killed in the war has risen to 25. U.S. officials said Wednesday that at least 17 Americans are unaccounted for.

“We join families in Israel, in the United States, around the world in mourning their immeasurable loss,” Blinken said at a joint news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv. 

The war has claimed at least 2,500 lives on both sides, a number that is expected to rise. 

Netanyahu thanked Blinken, President Joe Biden and the United States for their backing.

“This is a time — a particular time, a special time — that we must stand tall, proud and united against evil,” Netanyahu said. “Tony, you're taking that stand. America is taking that stand. Thank you for being here today. Thank you, America, for standing with Israel today, tomorrow and always.”

"Hamas is ISIS," the Israeli leader said. "And just as ISIS was crushed, so too will Hamas be crushed. And Hamas should be treated exactly the way ISIS was treated. They should be spit out from the community of nations. No leaders should meet them. No country should harbor them, and those that do should be sanctioned."

Blinken also said the U.S. knows Hamas “doesn’t represent the Palestinian people.”

“We know Hamas didn't commit its heinous acts with the interests of Palestinian people in mind,” he said. “We know Hamas does not stand for the future that Palestinians want for themselves and for their children. Hamas has only one agenda: to destroy Israel and to murder Jews.” 

"This is a moment for moral clarity," he said. "Everyone must condemn Hamas."

But, Blinken said, while Israel has the right to defend itself, he stressed that the country must take "every possible precaution ... to avoid hitting civilians."

He also warned Israel’s adversaries against taking advantage of the war with Hamas by attacking the country.

“Don’t,” he stressed. “The United States has Israel's back.”

Speaking at a news conference by himself later Thursday, Blinken said he met with the families of American citizens killed or taken hostage by Hamas terrorists. 

Blinken also discussed his plans for visiting other nations in the region in the coming days.

He said the loss for the families of U.S. citizens killed in the war “is immeasurable.” Meanwhile, the families of the missing are experiencing “an unrelenting agony of not knowing the fate of their loved ones, he said.

The secretary of state said the U.S. is “doing everything we can to secure the release of the hostages,” including working with Israel. Steve Gillen, deputy special envoy for hostage affairs, will remain in Israel, Blinken said. 

Blinken will travel next to Jordan, where we plans to meet with King Abdullah and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Blinken also plans to visit with leaders in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Qatar.

“Across each of these engagements, we will continue pressing countries to help prevent the conflict from spreading and to use their leverage with Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release the hostages,” Blinken said.

“We’ll also discuss how we can continue to make real our affirmative vision for a region that's more peaceful more prosperous, more secure, more integrated.”