TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin assured Israel that “we have your back” as he and America’s top diplomat met Friday with Israeli and Arab leaders. There was no indication the U.S. was trying to prevent an expected Israeli ground offensive into Gaza that could worsen a humanitarian crisis for the 2.3 million Palestinians trapped in the blockaded territory.
The visits to the Middle East by Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken came as Israel escalated its war against Hamas militants in response to their shocking and brutal rampage last weekend.
Israel demanded Friday that some 1 million civilians evacuate northern Gaza for their own safety in anticipation of the expected invasion. Palestinians did indeed begin a mass exodus toward the southern part of the besieged territory even as Hamas dismissed the evacuation as a ploy and the U.N. warned of potentially disastrous consequences of so many people fleeing.
Asked about the likelihood of civilian casualties in Gaza, Austin said Israel has the right to defend itself and added that he respects Israeli forces because he worked with them over the years when he was in the military.
“They are professional, they are disciplined and they are focused on the right things,” he told reporters after meeting with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and the Israeli War Cabinet. He also spoke with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling him, “As the president said, we have your back.”
Blinken voiced a similar message, saying at a news conference in Doha, Qatar, that although the U.S. continues to “discuss with Israel the importance of taking every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians,” it was also the case that any country “faced with what Israel has suffered would likely do the same.”
“No country can tolerate having a terrorist group come in, slaughter its people in the most unconscionable ways and live like that,” Blinken said. “What Israel is doing is not retaliation, it is defending the lives of its people.”
