Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Biden: Hamas attack is moment when ‘a pure, unadulterated evil is unleashed upon the world’

Biden said 14 Americans were killed in Hamas’ invasion. Twenty U.S. citizens are missing

WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Joe Biden issued a forceful condemnation of Hamas, and pledged American support for Israel, as he announced that the number of American dead from the terror group’s invasion of Israel is now 14.

As many as 20 Americans are missing, according to the White House.

In an address on Tuesday, the fourth day of Israel’s war with Hamas, Biden also pledged to keep Israel stocked with defensive equipment.

“There are moments in this life when a pure, unadulterated evil is unleashed upon the world,” Biden said, speaking from the White House and flanked by Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. ”The people of Israel lived through one such moment this weekend.”

Terrorists killed more than 900 people, injured thousands more and kidnapped more than 100 after pouring over the Gaza border. Israel has declared war, initiated what a senior official called a “complete siege” of Gaza and has hit the coastal strip with airstrikes, killing more than 800.

Biden said the number of American dead was at least 14, three more than the 11 he reported in a statement on Monday. He also confirmed for the first time that Americans were among those abducted. Relatives of U.S. citizens who went missing during the invasion held a press conference in Tel Aviv Tuesday.

“We now know that American citizens are among those being held by Hamas,” Biden said, without giving a number. “I’m directing my team to share intelligence and deploy additional experts from across the United States government to consult with and advise Israeli counterparts on hostage recovery and recovery efforts. Because as President, I have no higher priority than the safety of Americans being held hostage around the world.”

Jake Sullivan, Biden’s National Security Advisor, said afterward that it was not clear how many Americans were among those abducted, but that at least 20 Americans were missing. He emphasized that he did not if the missing were all hostages.

Biden said that he had just spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had made requests for equipment.

“From the moment this crisis began, we were surging additional military assistance including ammunition and interceptors to replenish Iron Dome,” Biden said, referring to Israel’s missile defense system. “We’re going to make sure that Israel does not run out of its critical assets to defend its cities and its citizens.”

Biden said he would soon make new requests for defense assistance funding to Congress. Sullivan confirmed that Netanyahu made additional requests for equipment, but he declined to give details.

Biden noted, as he has in recent days, that he sent naval reinforcements to the region as a deterrent. “Let me say again, to any country, any organization, anyone thinking of taking advantage of the situation, I have one word: Don’t. Don’t.”

Sullivan said Iran shared the blame for the invasion, even absent direct evidence of Iranian involvement. He cited Iran’s longstanding financial support for and training of Hamas.

He said Iran is liable for “broad complicity based on the longstanding support that Hamas is given by Iran. We don’t have specific information that ties Iran to this attack.”

This article originally appeared on JTA.org.

A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.