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Biden to travel to Israel Wednesday amid war with Hamas
President Joe Biden will travel to Israel on Wednesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced, saying one of the president’s goals is to reaffirm U.S. “solidarity with Israel and our ironclad commitment to its security.” We have details from NBC News’ Peter Alexander.
How the U.S.- Israel agreement on aid came together
In every stop he made after his trip to Israel last week, Arab leaders told Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the U.S. must do something to solve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, a senior State Department official said.
When Blinken called Biden after his meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi to relay their message, Biden asked his top diplomat to go back to Tel Aviv to work out a plan, the official said.
What followed was nine hours of negotiations between the U.S. and Israel, the senior State Department official said, as the two sides hashed out the details of the plan.
On Monday Blinken announced that the U.S. and Israel “have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza — and them alone.” The plan could also include creating areas to keep civilians safe, he said.
During the discussions about the agreement, Blinken and the U.S. delegation set up next to the Israel prime minister’s Cabinet meeting. Every so often Netanyahu would go over, and the two sides would exchange papers, the senior State Department official said.
Blinken also reiterated to Israel’s president today that every Arab leader he met with in the region expressed the importance of dealing with the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the official said.
Israel says it killed four people trying to infiltrate fence bordering Lebanon
ASHDOD, Israel — The Israeli Defense Forces said this morning it killed four people who were trying to infiltrate a security fence bordering Lebanon.
“A short while ago, IDF observation troops spotted a terrorist squad attempting to infiltrate the security fence with Lebanon and plant an explosive device,” a spokesperson for the IDF said.
It shared video appearing to show people moving near a fence before a blast dominates the screen.
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