The Biden administration needs to support Israel in the days and weeks to come, and even as pressure starts to mount when the media and others "start to blame Israel for what's happening," said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
"The threats that you've seen materialize — these were things we were all concerned about. That's why we wanted to have a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. That's why we've always been very stalwart that Israel has a right to defend itself and that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state," DeSantis said Saturday during an appearance on Newsmax's "Saturday Report."
"You would think that most people would realize that. A lot of Arab countries have now done peace deals with Israel in the intervening years. And yet you still have people like Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran — their goal is to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth, and that's not going to happen," he added.
"Israel has a right to defend themselves ... They will have my support; they will have America's support; and they need to have the Biden administration's support — not just today but in the days and weeks to come, particularly as pressure starts to mount where the media and other people start to blame Israel for what's happening."
The Gaza Health Ministry said Saturday that over 2,200 people have been killed in the territory, including 724 children and 458 women. The Hamas communications office said that Israel has "completely demolished" over 7,000 housing units so far.
Hamas' surprise attack killed more than 1,300 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, and roughly 1,500 Hamas militants died during the fighting, the Israeli government said.
Biden appears to have given Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a free hand, for now, to press his war against Hamas, though a threatened ground offensive — with the likelihood of a higher civilian death toll — could force the president to rethink that approach.
As Biden vows rock-solid support for Israel, he has faced only scattered protests from the left wing of the Democratic Party over his acquiescence to Israel's tough crackdown in the crowded coastal strip.
Information from the Associated Press and Reuters was used in this report.
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Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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