U.S. military assistance is “on the way” to Israel, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said on Oct. 9.
“The first tranche [of security assistance], in the wake of these terrorist attacks, is already on the way,” Mr. Kirby told reporters in a call.
“I don’t believe it’s actually made it to Israel yet, but it’s making its way there.”
He did not specify what kind of equipment was being sent.
The administration, he said, expects that “there'll be additional requests for security systems from Israel as they continue to expend munitions in this fight, and we will stay in lockstep with them, fulfilling their needs as best as we can and as fast as we can.”
Mr. Kirby said he “knows of no efforts to go to Congress” to request additional assistance to the Jewish state.
The United States gives $3.8 billion annually in assistance to Israel with all but $500 million of it being for military aid.
Mr. Kirby’s announcement comes as approximately 1,200 people have died in the conflict, which began on Oct. 7 when the U.S.-designated terrorist group Hamas launched rockets from Gaza, and at least 1,000 Hamas terrorists invaded the Jewish state.
Hamas has taken at least 150 Israelis, including an elderly female Holocaust survivor in a wheelchair, hostage.
In response, Israel has officially declared war and has retaliated with strikes on Gaza, which Hamas controls.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Oct. 9 that his country would impose a “complete siege” on the Gaza Strip. Mr. Gallant said that authorities would cut off electricity and block the entry of food and fuel to Gaza.
Israeli Infrastructure Minister Israel Katz said he had ordered the cutoff of water supplies from Israel to Hamas-controlled Gaza.
“What was in the past, will no longer be in the future,” he said, as some 2 million Palestinians who live in the Hamas-ruled territory brace for a possible Israeli ground operation.
The Pentagon announced on Oct. 8 a new posture in the Middle East in light of the situation.
A statement issued by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Sunday said that he directed the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the eastern portion of the Mediterranean Sea, or closer to the Israeli coast. That includes the USS Gerald R. Ford Navy aircraft carrier, a guided missile cruiser, guided-missile destroyers, and a range of different fighter jets.
Americans Caught in the Conflict
Mr. Kirby said he could not confirm how many Americans are accounted for.However, at least 11 Americans have been killed, President Joe Biden said on Oct. 9.
“It’s heart wrenching. These families have been torn apart by inexcusable hatred and violence. We also know that American citizens still remain unaccounted for, and we are working with Israeli officials to obtain more information as to their whereabouts,” President Biden said in a statement.
President Biden also said that “ it is likely that American citizens may be among those being held by Hamas.”
Earlier on CNN, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said “it’s very hard to say” how many U.S. citizens are missing in Israel as “it’s a number that moves all the time.”
“We are in close contact with the government of Israel as they continue to conduct security operations to locate missing U.S. citizens, missing Israeli citizens,” he said. “And we are, of course, in close contact with the families of these nine deceased Americans and offering them any consular assistance that we can provide.”
“We’ve continued to work. Some of them will be located, we suspect,” he said. “Some of them may unfortunately turn out to be deceased, but we will work on that with the government of Israel in the coming days.”
The White House will be lit up on the night of Oct. 9 in blue and white to express solidarity with Israel amid the attacks it’s been facing from Hamas, according to Mr. Kirby.
