Blinken tells Netanyahu in Israel: U.S. will 'always be there'
By Humeyra Pamuk
TEL AVIV (Reuters) -U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Benjamin Netanyahu he understood on a personal level 'the harrowing echoes that Hamas' massacres carry for Israeli Jews' and Washington was at Israel's side, as he began a Middle East trip also aimed at containing the conflict.
From a podium next to the Israeli prime minister at the military headquarters in Tel Aviv on Thursday, Blinken urged Israel to show restraint in its retaliation, in his most direct plea so far, asking that it take every possible precaution to protect civilian life.
Washington's top diplomat embarked on a multi-country Middle East tour as Israel unleashes the most powerful bombing campaign in the 75-year history of its conflict with the Palestinians, vowing to annihilate Hamas — which rules the Gaza Strip — in retribution for the militants' weekend attacks.
Blinken will also try to help secure the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas, some thought to be Americans, and advance talks with Israelis and Egyptians on providing a safe passage for Gaza civilians out of the enclave before a possible Israeli ground invasion.
At least 25 Americans were killed in the Hamas attacks, he said.
«You may be strong enough on your own to defend yourself. But as long as America exists, you will never ever have to. We will always be there by your side,» Blinken told Netanyahu.
He also offered an emotional, personal aside, recounting how his grandfather fled pogroms in Russia and his stepfather survived Nazi concentration camps.
«I understand on a personal level the harrowing echoes that Hamas' massacres carry for Israeli Jews, indeed, for Jews everywhere,» he said.
Blinken said at a later news conference that Israeli officials had
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