The White House said on Tuesday it was developing “cautious contingency plans” to evacuate Americans from the Middle East as a precaution Israel and Hamas War Spread into widespread regional conflicts.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stressed that there are currently no “active efforts” to evacuate Americans from the region, aside from charter flights the U.S. government began operating from Israel earlier this month.
“It would be reckless and irresponsible if we didn’t get people to think about a wide range of contingencies and possibilities,” Kirby said. “Certainly evacuations are one of them.”
White House develops contingency plans as concerns grow Israel-Hamas war lasts 18 days Further upgrades are likely. The United States has advised Israel that delaying a potential ground invasion of Gaza could be helpful as it and other partners in the region try to secure the release of more than 200 hostages captured in an October 7 attack on Hamas territory . The Washington Post first reported on the emergency plan.
President Joe Biden Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke by phone on Tuesday about the deteriorating situation. It was the first interaction between the two leaders since before Hamas attacked Israel.
According to the White House, Biden and the crown prince spoke about “efforts to deter state and non-state actors from escalating the conflict between Israel and Hamas.” Biden administration officials have repeatedly warned Iran not to get involved in the conflict. U.S. troops stationed in the region have come under repeated attacks in the past few days, which the Pentagon says are likely to be backed by Iran. Iran is a major sponsor of Hamas, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and militant groups in Iraq and Yemen.
“The two leaders agreed to pursue broader diplomatic efforts to maintain stability in the region and prevent the conflict from expanding,” the White House added.
Biden said last week that he believed Hamas’s motivations for attacking Israel This was partly due to a desire to prevent the country from normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia.
“One of the reasons Hamas is attacking Israel is they know I’m about to sit down with the Saudis,” Biden said at a campaign fundraiser. The US president said he believed Hamas militants launched the deadly attack on October 7 because “guess what? Saudi Arabia wants to recognize Israel” and was about to formally do so.
A deal would be a diplomatic feat that could lead to broader recognition of Israel by other Arab and Muslim-majority countries that have opposed Israel since its founding 75 years ago on territory long inhabited by Palestinians.
But talks were disrupted after Hamas militants stormed into nearby Israeli towns from the blockaded Gaza corridor, where Palestinians live.
Israel has blockaded Gaza in response, and Biden told reporters in Washington on Tuesday that humanitarian aid into the area was not arriving fast enough.
Gaza’s 2.3 million people have run out of food, water, fuel and medicine. So far, the aid convoys that have been allowed into Gaza have carried only a fraction of what is needed.
The president commented to reporters on the pace of aid flowing into Gaza after awarding science and technology awards to several individuals for exemplary achievements that have had a positive impact on the United States.
One of the recipients, City College of New York’s Sheldon Weinbaum, wore a “Stop the War” button on his suit jacket lapel when accepting the medal from Biden.
Biden said the ceremony was a welcome break from the grim news coming out of the Middle East.
“This is a happy moment,” Biden said at the start of the White House ceremony. “We need more happy occasions.”
This war was the deadliest of the five wars fought by both sides in Gaza. The Hamas-run health ministry said at least 5,791 Palestinians were killed and 16,297 wounded. Since October 7, violence and Israeli attacks have killed 96 Palestinians and injured 1,650 others in the occupied West Bank.
“This is war. This is combat. It’s bloody, it’s ugly, and it’s going to be chaotic,” Kirby said. “I wish I could tell you something different. I wish this wouldn’t happen.”
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