Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Isaac Herzog personally greeted President Biden when his plane landed at Ben Gurion Airport outside Tel Aviv, according to Reuters. Biden hugged the two leaders of the host country in turn.
"Welcome, Mr. President. May God bless you for defending the land of Israel," Herzog's office quoted him as telling the US leader.
Under unusually heavy security even for a US president, Biden and Netanyahu had a brief exchange on the tarmac, before their motorcade departed for a Tel Aviv hotel where the two men will hold talks, according to AFP.
Prime Minister Netanyahu welcomes President Biden at Ben Gurion Airport
Hundreds of armed police and soldiers were stationed around the beachfront hotel, with armed snipers deployed on the roofs of nearby buildings. Tel Aviv is just 65 km from the Gaza Strip.
Biden’s unscheduled trip to the Middle East has been marred by a last-minute change in plans by the White House. A massive explosion rocked a hospital in Gaza on October 17, killing about 500 people, according to health officials there. Hamas and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, as well as several countries, have blamed Israel for the attack, but Israel denies the accusations, saying the rockets were fired by Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). PIJ has rejected the claim.
Jordan, Mr Biden's planned stop after Israel, has announced the cancellation of plans to host the US President as well as a four-way summit - along with the Egyptian and Palestinian presidents - in the capital Amman on October 18.
Waves of anger have erupted on the streets across the Middle East, including protests outside the Israeli embassies in Türkiye and Jordan, as well as near the US embassy in Lebanon.
Biden has been a strong supporter of Israel since Hamas launched a surprise attack on the country on October 7, triggering Israeli retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza since then. But he is under intense pressure to secure a clear Israeli commitment to minimize civilian suffering in Gaza, where 2.3 million Palestinians are completely cut off from food, fuel, water or medical supplies.
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