Israel: Biden calls Hamas terror attack 'sheer evil'

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken plans to travel to Israel, arriving on Thursday, after the large-scale attack by Hamas.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in Washington on Tuesday that Blinken would meet with Israeli counterparts to discuss the situation and how best to support Israel "in their fight against the terrorists who launched these horrific attacks." 

Miller made the announcement soon after a speech from US President Joe Biden pledging support to Israel and condemning the attacks. 

Before those talks, Blinken had participated in a video call along with Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Israeli officials including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. 

Police in Berlin have banned two pro-Palestinian rallies planned in the German capital for Wednesday, one at the Brandenburg Gate and one in the district of Neukölln, citing "a threat to public safety and order."

Justifying the decision on Tuesday evening, the police pointed to "the current situation in the Middle East, criminal acts at comparable assemblies in the past, as well as the events in Berlin last weekend."

On Saturday, members of the Palestinian prisoner solidarity network "Samidoun" had publicly celebrated the deadly terrorist attacks on Israel by distributing sweets in Neukölln.

It's not the first time that Berlin police have prohibited pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Earlier this year, a planned march to mark the expulsion of Palestinians from Israel was banned due to concerns about antisemitic slogans and the glorification of violence.

Berlin's governing mayor Kai Wegner had spoken out in favor of a ban on pro-Palestinian demonstrations on Tuesday, even before the police announcement, saying: "There is no place for antisemitism and Israel-hatred in Berlin."

US President Joe Biden spoke once more to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, before his White House address.

"We connected with Prime Minister Netanyahu to discuss coordination to support Israel, deter hostile actors, and protect innocent people," Biden said on social media.

The president and his VP also sat down with US national security teams to get an update on the "terrorist attack in Israel and to direct next steps."

US President Joe Biden said in his White House address that his administration was securing additional military assistance to Israel, including ammunition and interceptors for the Iron Dome.

"We're going to make sure that Israel doesn't run out of these critical assets to defend its cities and its citizens," Biden said.

He added that his administration has been in close consultation with the US Congress throughout the crisis. Congress Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted in a vote last week, restricting the activities of the House until a new speaker is elected.

Biden said that once Congress returns, he will ask the House to take "urgent action to fund the national security requirements of our critical partners."

"This is not about party or politics. This is about the security of our world, the security of the United States of America," Biden said.

He stressed that there was no place for hate in the US, "not against Jews or Muslims."

US President Joe Biden stressed that the US hostages held by Hamas since its weekend attack are a top priority for him, in his address from the White House on Tuesday.

The president said he has directed his teams to share intelligence and deploy additional experts "to consult with and advise Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery efforts."

"As president, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans being held hostage around the world," he said.

US President Joe Biden has compared the terrorism exercised by Hamas to that of the so-called Islamic State (IS) militant group, saying Hamas has "slaughtered" more than 1,000 civilians and left "entire families slain."

"These traumas never go away," Biden said, recounting the Hamas attack of the last weekend.

"Hamas doesn't stand for the Palestinian people's right to dignity and self-determination," Biden said. "Its stated purpose is the annihilation of the state of Israel and the murder of the Jewish people."

He accused Hamas of using Palestinian civilians as "human shields."

"Hamas offers nothing but terrorism and bloodshed with no regard to who pays the price," he said.

Biden also stressed Israel's right to respond to the violence.

The US, like the EU, Israel and others, designates Hamas as a terrorist group.

US President Joe Biden has described the Hamas weekend attack as an "act of sheer evil," in the first national address following talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"There are moments in this life, and I mean this literally, when the pure unadulterated evil is unleashed on this world. The people of Israel lived through one such moment this weekend," Biden said.

He stressed the US's support to Israel.

"Let there be no doubt, the US has Israel's back."

Biden said US officials were in constant communication with Israeli partners in the region and worldwide, as well as with the Israeli government to offer support.

US President Joe Biden is making a televised address about the situation in and around Israel on Tuesday — his first public comments since Sunday.

While the 80-year-old has staunchly backed Israel, his response to the threat of a regional war and a possible hostage crisis is likely to be closely scrutinized.

The White House on Tuesday said it was taking Hamas threats to execute hostages seriously, with US citizens thought likely to be among them.

Hamas, which rules the coastal Gaza Strip, is classified as a terrorist organization by the EU, the US and Israel, among others. The militant group launched its attacks on Israel on Saturday, with hundreds killed on both sides in the fighting as Israel responded with air strikes.

At least 11 US citizens were among the dead.

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris also spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday.

They would "discuss our support for Israel" after the talks with Netanyahu and would explore efforts to "deter other hostile actors from exploiting this attack on Israel."

The reference may have been to both Iran, which backs Hamas, and the militant group Hezbollah operating from southern Lebanon.

The European Union will continue supporting the Palestinian Authority, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell announced, following a meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers on Tuesday.

Borrell said that stopping support for the Palestinian Authority would be a mistake.

"The overwhelming majority of the member states considered that we have to continue our support to the Palestinian Authority and the payments due should not be delayed," Borrell said.

Borrell stressed that Israel has the right to defend itself "but it has to be done accordingly with international law, humanitarian law, and some decisions are contrary to international law."

The Israeli military said that overnight-strikes on the Gaza Strip have killed multiple senior Hamas leaders.

An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) statement identified two of those killed as Zakaria Abu Maamer and Jawad Abu Shamala.

Abu Maamar was among the senior members of Hamas' political bureau, the IDF said. Abu Shamala meanwhile was identified as Hamas' minister of economy.

The IDF said both leaders were responsible for either inciting, planning or executing actions against Israel.

The two men were killed in an air strike in southern Gaza's Khan Younis, a Hamas official told the Reuters news agency.

Hamas is designated a terrorist organization by Germany, the EU and the US.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) announced on Tuesday it was responding with artillery fire to "rocket launches" from Lebanon.

Lebanon's state news agency reported that rockets were fired from southern Lebanon into the northern Israeli region of Galilee.

Three security sources told the Reuters news agency that a salvo of rockets was fired. One source added that Palestinian factions were behind the launch.

The death toll from the Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip has reached 830, the Palestinian Health Ministry said on Tuesday afternoon.

Some 4,250 more people were also injured, the ministry added on its Facebook page. The toll was last updated at 4:45 p.m. local time (1:45 p.m. GMT).

Israel has launched airstrikes on the Gaza Strip after the militant Hamas group launched an unprecedented terror attack over the weekend. Hamas is designated as a terrorist group by Israel, the US and the EU.

The militant terror group Hamas has struck the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon, Israeli and Arab media reported.

The Times of Israel said Hamas launched "a barrage of rockets" at the coastal city, adding that sirens could be heard in Ashkelon and other nearby towns.

Qatari news site Al-Jazeera also reported on the rocket fire targeting Ashkelon.

Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist group by Israel, the US and the EU, had earlier warned of bombarding Ashkelon at 5 p.m. local time (1400 GMT) Tuesday.

US President Joe Biden is speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later on Tuesday, to discuss US support to Israel, Reuters news agency reported, citing the White House.

The pair have already spoken twice since Hamas launched its unprecedented attack over the weekend.

Biden is also due to receive an update on the situation, the White House said.

Biden and US Vice President Kamala Harris will also meet the National Security team to discuss the ongoing situation in Israel later on Tuesday, the White House added.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said there needs to be a balance between providing aid to the Palestinian people and cutting off the financing of terrorists.

European Union foreign ministers are meeting on Tuesday to try to resolve divisions within the 27-member bloc over whether to continue aid payments to Palestinians. It comes a day after the European Commission backtracked on an announcement suspending all such aid.

Scholz said there must be clarity that no aid sent would be used to help prop up terrorist organizations, such as Hamas.

"On the one hand we have to have humanitarian help so people can be supported to have water and things to eat, and at the same time we need to ensure nothing happens that supports structures linked to terrorism," Scholz said on Tuesday at a two-day retreat in Hamburg with French President Emmanuel Macron and his cabinet.

"We are sure this is not happening, but it is essential to check every time," he added.