US President Biden coming to Israel as he orders 2nd aircraft carrier strike group to Eastern Mediterranean

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL – In an extremely rare decision for an American commander-in-chief to visit a hot war zone, but determined to send a message to the terror masters in Tehran and Beirut to not dare open a second and third front against Israel, U.S. President Joe Biden will visit Israel on Wednesday and say that America is standing 100% with Israel in its war with Hamas.

The visit comes as Biden ordered a second U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier strike group into the Eastern Mediterranean, a dramatic expansion of American military might in the theater not seen since the Yom Kippur War of 1973.

“On Wednesday, I'll travel to Israel to stand in solidarity in the face of Hamas's brutal terrorist attack,” Biden said Monday.

“I'll then travel to Jordan to address dire humanitarian needs, meet with leaders, and make clear that Hamas does not stand for Palestinians' right to self-determination,” the statement continued.

Biden is very concerned, and understandably so, about the fate of Palestinian civilians in Gaza who are in harm’s way.

Beginning Friday morning, Israel has been urging Palestinians in northern Gaza to move immediately southward to get far away from Gaza City, which serves as the primary base of operations for the Hamas terrorist organization and government.

So far, more than 500,000 Palestinians have heeded Israel’s warnings, and more are fleeing today, even though Hamas has commanded everyone to stay put, and has even resorted to blocking escape routes to the south.

Initially, Israel indicated that the IDF’s invasion of northern Gaza would begin on Saturday night or in the wee hours of Sunday morning.

However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has delayed the attack to give innocent civilians in Gaza enough time to move south to get out of harm’s way.

The delay – three days long at this point – has also given the IDF more time to get tanks and troops into position, finalize war plans and launch a massive information campaign through international media.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday that Biden “is coming here at a critical moment for Israel, for the region and for the world.”

Blinken briefly talked to the press at the U.S. Embassy’s Tel Aviv branch office after participating in an 8-hour meeting with Netanyahu and his war cabinet at the IDF’s Kirya headquarters, a meeting that was interrupted by rocket fire from Gaza at least once.

“Israel has the right and indeed the duty to defend its people from Hamas and other terrorists and to prevent future attacks,” Blinken said, adding that the U.S. president will “underscore our crystal-clear message to any actor, state or non-state, trying to take advantage of this crisis to attack Israel: Don’t.”

According to Blinken, Biden also looks forward to discussing the development of a plan to “enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza,” which was agreed upon by Israel and the U.S.

Biden’s visit comes after two other visits by the state secretary, a visit by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and CENTCOM commander, U.S. Gen. Erik Kurilla, who arrived in Israel on Tuesday morning.