U.S. Secretary of State and Israeli Ambassador on Israel attacks
WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS, KYMA/KECY) - Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation Sunday about the attacks in Israel.
When asked if the Hamas assault is over, Blinken said. "There continues to be very active fighting."
"This is the worst attack on Israel since the Yom Kippur War 50 years ago, 1973. But there's a big difference. That was a conflict between countries, between armies. This is a massive terrorist assault on Israel, with terrorists going into Israeli homes going into Israeli towns gunning down civilians in their homes, on the streets, grabbing people, men, women, children, and taking them into Gaza. A Holocaust survivor in a wheelchair, women and children all being dragged into Gaza. You can imagine what this is what this is doing in Israel to Israelis, and it should be something that revolts the entire world."
Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of State
When asked if the Hamas attacks was an attempt to take advantage of the West's focus of Ukraine, Blinken said they will learn more about what the motivations were.
"But here's one thing [that is] clear: We've been actively working on trying to help Israel and Saudi Arabia normalize their relations, as well as Israel broadening its relationships with many other countries in the region, and beyond very hard work, and not clear that we could get there. But if we could, it would really change the prospects of the entire region far into the future. Now, who's opposed to that? Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran. So I think that speaks volumes."
Antony Blinken, United States Secretary of State
Israeli Ambassador's response
Later in the show, Brennan interviewed Michael Herzog, the Israeli Ambassador to the United States, about the Israel attacks.
When asked how Hamas managed to take Israeli forces by surprise, Ambassador Herzog said that “it was a surprise attack,” but Israel will “investigate that once we conclude that war in victory.”
During the interview, Brennan asked about Iran's potential involvement in the attack, to which Herzog said, “…[Hamas] is an Iranian-led coalition and we suspect that Iran is involved."
When asked whether Israel will take the fight to Iran, Herzog said, “I'm not going to say what exactly Israel is going to do, but I will just say that whoever strikes Israel, we'll strike back.”
U.S. support for Israel
Also during the interview, Brennan and Herzog discussed the U.S. and the Biden administration's support for Israel.
Herzog said internal political debates in Israel did not hamper military readiness, saying, “Maybe they were under the impression given the debate in Israel, that Israel is weakened, so that they can provoke us…I think they are definitely mistaken.”
When asked whether and how many Americans are among the hostages, Herzog said, “I understand there are. I don’t have details.”
