Biden wraps up visit to wartime Israel with warning against being 'consumed' by rage

Biden visits Israel to show support, secure aid for Gaza. He urges Israelis not to be consumed by rage over Hamas attack, and speaks to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi to secure aid. Biden's mission is to display resolve for Israel, diminish likelihood of wider war, and provide assurances of dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. He succeeds, aid to Gaza to start rolling in by Friday. Biden celebrates his accomplishment, saying he "came to get something done" and "got it done." He urges civilized world to unite to defeat Hamas. Jordan's King Abdullah II cancels summit in protest of hospital explosion. Biden's presence in Israel prompts fresh outrage. He stresses Hamas does not represent Palestinians. U.S. to ask Congress for $2B in aid for Israel and Ukraine.

President Joe Biden swept into wartime Israel for a 7 1/2-hour visit Wednesday that produced a heaping dose of vocal support, a deal to get limited humanitarian aid into Gaza from Egypt, likely by the end of the week, and a plea for Israelis not to allow rage over the deadly Hamas attack to consume them.

“I understand. Many Americans understand,” Mr. Biden said as he wrapped up his stay in Tel Aviv, likening the October 7 Hamas assault to the attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001, that killed nearly 3,000 people. “You can’t look at what has happened here... and not scream out for justice," he said.

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“But I caution this: While you feel that rage, don’t be consumed by it,” he said. “After 9/11, we were enraged in the United States. And while we sought justice and got justice, we also made mistakes."

Mr. Biden urged Israel to step back from the brink, not just to ease growing tensions in the Mideast that threaten to spiral into a broader regional conflict, but also to reassure a world rattled by images of carnage and suffering, in Israel and Gaza alike. One million people have been displaced in roughly 10 days, according to the United Nations.

Mr. Biden's mission was to display resolve for Israel and to diminish the likelihood of a wider war, while providing assurances that he was not overlooking the increasingly dire humanitarian situation in Gaza. Aboard the flight back to Washington Mr. Biden made progress when he spoke by phone with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi who agreed to reopen his country’s sealed border crossing with Gaza and allow up to 20 trucks carrying humanitarian aid supplies to cross.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Mr. Biden said roads near the crossing would first need hours of repairs, but that aid could begin rolling into the region by Friday. He suggested the aid could be distributed by international officials “which could take a little time” and added that, “if Hamas confiscates it, it's going to end. We're not going to send any aid to Hamas.”