On a visit to Israel Friday, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin likened Hamas to ISIS and pledged that the United States will make sure “Israel has what it needs to defend itself.”
Speaking to the press at the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv alongside his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, Austin said, “As a former commander of Central Command, the deliberate cruelty of Hamas vividly reminds me of ISIS. Blood-thirsty, fanatical, and hateful. And like ISIS, Hamas has nothing to offer by zealotry, bigotry and death.”
Austin, repeated that the United States will continue to supply Israel with military assistance. The US aircraft carrier Gerald Ford is in the region, and the presence of American fighter jets has increased, said Austin.
“The US Department of Defense stands fully ready to deploy additional assets if necessary,” he said, adding that it is sending Israel munitions, air defense capabilities, and other equipment and resources, including more interceptors for the Iron Dome missile defense system.
