‘The United states has Israel’s back’: Blinken touches down at Ben Gurion airport after flying in to show solidarity in aftermath of Hamas’ brutal attack before heading to meet Palestinian leaders tomorrow

Antony Blinken has landed in Israel to meet with senior officials in the country as the violence continues to spiral following the brutal assault on the country by Hamas last weekend. 

He touched down in Tel Aviv just after 3am Eastern time, 10am local time. Blinken was greeted on the tarmac by government officials who offered him a warm embrace. 

Prior to leaving the US, Blinken said his simple message was that ‘the United States has Israel’s back.’ The secretary is set to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, member of his senior cabinet as well as President Isaac Herzog. 

On Friday, Blinken will also sit down with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Blinken is being joined on his mission of peace by his Deputy Chief of Staff Tom Sullivan, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Barbara Leaf, Special Representative for Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr and Deputy Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Steve Gillen.  

The secretary of state became the most senior US official to visit the country since Saturday’s Hamas terror attack that left more than 1,200 Israelis dead.

The death toll in Gaza has also nearly reached 1,200 the Palestinian Ministry of Health said night after four days of relentless Israeli air raids on the Hamas-controlled territory.

President Joe Biden has dispatched his top diplomat to Israel on an urgent mission to show U.S. support after the unprecedented attack by Hamas

But Blinken insisted he would not try to restrain the Israeli counter-attack ahead of a widely expected invasion of the heavily populated enclave.

‘We know that Israel will take all of the precautions that it can, just as we would, and again that’s what separates us from Hamas and terrorist groups that engage in the most heinous kind of activities,’ he told reporters as he left.

The secretary of state will offer further military support when he meets Netanyahu after a second US carrier group was ordered the region.

But he will also be trying to stop the conflict spreading after Israeli forces again exchanged artillery fire with Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants across the Lebanese border to the north.

‘We will be reiterating the very strong message that President Biden has delivered to any country or any party that might try to take advantage of this situation, and that message is don’t.’

‘The United States has Israel’s back.

‘We have their back today, we will have it tomorrow, and we will have it every day. And we will always stand resolutely against terrorism.

‘Not since Isis have we seen this kind of depravity and we will continue to stand resolutely against it.

‘Already significant military assistance requested by Israel is on its way, that’s on top of everything we’ve been doing for years.

‘There’ll be further requests and we’ve already been working closely with Congress on this and we look forward to continuing to do that so Israel has what it needs.

America’s top diplomat has already been working the phones in a bid to apply pressure on Hamas to release around 150 hostages it took from Israel in its deadly cross-border raid.

Secretary of state Anthony Blinken promised ‘the United States has Israel’s back’ as he became the most senior US official to visit the country since the October 7 attack

Palestinian officials said the death toll in Gaza is already nearly 1,200 ahead of an expected Israeli ground invasion 

He has spoken to leaders in Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates and is expected to visit at least some on his trip to the Middle East.

But critics claimed the unforeseen attack is a symptom of years of neglect in the region which has left the US playing catch-up.

‘The attack by Hamas is a reminder of the perception of an American absence or lack of commitment to the region that some actors might interpret and do things they should not be doing,’ said Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran program at the Middle East Institute.