(Washington, DC) – President Joe Biden has confirmed at least 14 American citizens have been killed as a result of the terrorist attacks in Israel by Hamas.
“You know, 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 in an address Tuesday afternoon in the State Dining Room in Washington, DC. “The bloody hands of the terrorist organization Hamas — a group whose stated purpose for being is to kill Jews.”
The President said the United States stands with Israel.
“We stand with Israel. And we will make sure Israel has what it needs to take care of its citizens, defend itself, and respond to this attack,” Biden said. “There is no justification for terrorism. There is no excuse.”
The Department of Defense has moved the USS Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group to the Eastern Mediterranean and bolstered its fighter aircraft presence. Biden said the country stands ready to move in additional assets as needed.
“The American hostages have to come home now,” former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said.
Fox News reports that, in addition to the 14 Americans killed in the attacks, a “number of others were being held hostage in Gaza.”
