Antony Blinken says US ‘working overtime’ to verify reports of Americans dead in Israel
Rachel Schilke
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States is “working overtime” to verify reports that there are missing and dead Americans in Israel after Hamas launched a deadly terrorist attack early Saturday.
“We have reports that several Americans were killed. We’re working overtime to verify that. At the same time, there are reports of missing Americans, and there again, we’re working to verify those reports,” Blinken said in an interview with CNN’s Dana Bush on State of the Union on Sunday.
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When asked by Kristen Welker on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday whether some U.S. citizens could have been taken hostage, Blinken said, “That’s correct.”
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Gilad Erdan also believes that there are dozens of American nationals currently being held in the Gaza Strip, a Palestine enclave controlled by Hamas, according to Will Cain, host of Fox and Friends.
Israel’s Embassy to the United States reported that over 100 soldiers and civilians have been kidnapped in Gaza, according to the Jerusalem Post.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said 313 are dead and 1,990 others are injured in Gaza as a result of Israeli airstrikes. According to the Israeli Health Ministry, at least 500 are dead, and 2,000 others are injured in Israel as of 9 a.m. Sunday. Several Israeli media outlets are reporting that nearly 600 people have died. An Israeli official said security forces have killed 400 Hamas militants and captured dozens more, according to the Associated Press.
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Blinken said on Meet the Press that, at this moment, the U.S. doesn’t have “anything that shows us whether Iran was directly involved in this attack, in planning it or in carrying it out.”
“Iran and Hamas have a long relationship. Hamas wouldn’t be Hamas without the support it’s had for many years from Iran,” Blinken noted, adding that the U.S. is looking “very carefully” at Iran’s involvement.
There will likely be additional details on aid to Israel from the U.S. that could be announced as early as Sunday, the secretary said on CNN.
“We’re looking at specific additional requests that the Israelis have made — I think you’re likely to hear more about that later today,” Blinken said.
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Many have slammed the Biden administration for unfreezing $6 billion of frozen Iranian oil revenue as part of a prisoner exchange that they believe could fuel the Hamas terrorist attack. However, Blinken said on CNN on Sunday that no money has been spent from the unfrozen funds that are intended for humanitarian purposes.
“So people are either misinformed or they’re misinforming,” Blinken said. “And either way, it’s wrong.”