While ascending the stairs to a stage in Philadelphia, Vice President Joe Biden experienced a momentary loss of balance and stumbled. After regaining his balance by clinging onto the railing, he went on to provide an unexpected evaluation of Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist organization that is in charge of the Gaza Strip. He referred to them as “pure evil” and made a comparison between them and Al Qaeda, stating that the former makes the latter “look pure.” In light of the escalating war, Vice President Biden declared that the United States stands in solidarity with Israel.
This declaration comes in the wake of a terrorist strike launched from the Gaza Strip against southern Israel by Hamas militants, which resulted in the deaths and kidnappings of a large number of persons, including American citizens. Biden stated that he had conversations with members of the families of the missing Americans and reassured them of his dedication to locating and reuniting all of the missing Americans with their loved ones. In close coordination with Israel and other regional partners, the United States of America is attempting to secure the release of American hostages held by Hamas.
Given that Qatar is home to the political leadership of Hamas, Qatar’s prime minister also indicated that his government is doing everything in its power to ensure the release of hostages held by Hamas. In spite of this, the Israeli military conducted covert searches in Gaza but came up empty, and Hamas has threatened to execute hostages on video in retaliation for Israeli bombings.