Dramatic images are emerging from the Middle East as the enormity of the attack on Israel becomes clear. Pictures show homes in kibbutzim – small communities common in Israel – with windows smashed, furniture strewn around in gardens, and bullet holes in doors and walls. Israeli troops are visible in several pictures with their heads down while standing over rows of dead bodies. Photos from inside the Gaza Strip show the impact of Israel’s ferocious response, with children covered in ash emerging from enormous piles of rubble.
The Jewish state’s Iron Dome defense system is displayed in spectacular photos published by the New York Post. The Iron Dome is a system that intercepts rockets and bombs from Gaza while they are in the air and creates a fireworks-like display in the sky.
The Post’s pictures include images of the US government sitting down for talks about the crisis, CNN reporter Clarissa Ward jumping for cover, and a photo of an Israeli soldier carrying a small dog he’d rescued from a kibbutz in southern Israel.
President Biden arrived in Israel on October 18 and immediately sat down with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the rapidly escalating conflict. The President told the press he is assured that Israel did not bomb a hospital in the Gaza Strip the previous day, killing hundreds of people. Netanyahu has insisted Palestinian militants carried out the attack, and President Biden said he believed this is true.
The President said he felt compelled to visit the area personally to reassure Israel of America’s unbending support. “I wanted the people of Israel – the people of the world – to know where the United States stands,” he said.
Prime Minister Netanyahu praised the President for immediately recognizing the horror of the attack his country had endured. “From the moment Israel was attacked, you’ve rightly drawn a clear line between the forces of civilization and the forces of barbarism,” he said.
