Israel retaliated to Saturday's surprise attack by Hamas by raining air and artillery strikes in Gaza for six days, claiming more than 1,400 lives and displacing over 400,000 people in the crowded enclave.
TEL AVIV, Israel - Secretary of State Antony Blinken vowed unwavering US support for Israel in its war on Hamas after talks Thursday with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who promised to "crush" the Palestinian militant group.
"You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself," Blinken said at a joint press conference in Tel Aviv with Netanyahu.Netanyahu voiced appreciation for the US support, which includes military aid, and said Hamas, which rules the blockaded Gaza Strip, should be treated like the Islamic State group.
He will also go to Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE and Qatar to put pressure on Hamas and secure the release of hostages.Fears have grown for Gaza's 2.4 million people now enduring the fifth war in 15 years in the coastal enclave. At the biggest, al-Shifa Hospital, there were chaotic scenes of an uninterrupted stream of ambulances, relatives asking for news and wails of anguish from relatives of the dead.
The UN humanitarian agency has launched an urgent appeal for nearly $300 million to address the most urgent needs in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. "It looks like ... an atomic bomb just landed here," Doron Spielman, an Israeli army spokesman, said at one gated community where more than 100 residents were killed.Israel's war now flaring in the south is further complicated by a threat from the north, the Iran-backed Hezbollah group based in Lebanon.
The United States has sent munitions to Israel and deployed an aircraft carrier battle group to the eastern Mediterranean in a show of support, while warning Israel's other enemies not to enter the conflict.
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