Vantage | Why Israel-Hamas war is a tricky one for America

This is the USS Gerald R Ford - the American navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier. It can hold 5,000 soldiers. It can hold a deck of warplanes, it has cruisers, it has destroyers and right now, it is sailing to the eastern Mediterranean. Why? As a show of support to Israel. When Hamas attacked Israel, the United States jumped into action. It condemned the attack and offered its “rock solid and unwavering” support. US President Joe Biden said: “The people of Israel are under attack, orchestrated by a terrorist organisation, Hamas. In this moment of tragedy, I want to say to them and to the world and to terrorists everywhere that the United States stands with Israel. We will not ever fail to have their back”.

‘US will always have Israel’s back’ - that was Biden’s promise, and hours later Washington delivered. It ordered its aircraft carrier to move to the region. The fleet was already in the Mediterranean, so it did not have to go very far. The US is also sending fighter jets as a show of force. So, that’s a lot of posturing and it reflects America’s fears. It is worried about this war spreading into the region. It is worried about a bigger conflict in West Asia. That said, Israel is also America’s biggest ally in the region. There may be political tensions between the two, Biden may not be happy with Benjamin Netanyahu or his extreme far-right government, he may not have invited him to the White House in December, but that has never stopped US aid to the country. The aid and the questions Washington gives $3.8 billion of military aid to Israel every year and with the war, it’s likely to increase. Biden has already promised military assistance. What that would look like is still being worked out. Of course, it won’t be US boots on the ground but there will be a lot of military machinery like air defence and munitions. Pentagon is already fast-tracking whatever is in the pipeline. So clearly, Washington is gearing to back Israel. Right now, there are no other options for America. Their support for Israel is expected, but the bigger question is, what happens if this war drags on? What does the US do then? Washington is already providing aid to Ukraine. With Israel, it will have to meet the needs of two countries - simultaneously. Plus, what happens if the death toll mounts? What if Israel launches a ground offensive? Thousands of Palestinians could die. There could be a humanitarian disaster, there could be potential for refugees, there could be domestic backlash. All of that will determine how the US navigates this. The politics But while Biden’s initial deployment was about strategic deterrence, his incentive could also be political. America is going to elections next year and Biden wants to make sure the Republicans do not exploit this. In fact, they are already calling out Biden on the $6 billion Iranian funds that were released. So, it is likely that they will use this as a lightning rod. Plus, Biden was hoping to preside over a relative lull in West Asia. His own national security advisor Jake Sullivan talked about it. He said it’s the most peaceful West Asia has been in 20 years, and just a week later Hamas attacks Israel. Also, there’s the elusive Saudi-Israel peace deal. If Saudi Arabia normalised ties with Israel, it would change West Asia and Biden was hoping to be the president who would have brokered it. But right now, the deal looks like a big shot. There’s no way Riyadh would normalise ties with Israel in the middle of a war. So, will it be a dead end soon? Here’s what the US state secretary Antony Blinken said: “It’s no surprise that those opposed to the efforts to normalise relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel and more broadly, to normalise Israel’s relations with countries throughout the region and beyond who oppose it - Hezbollah, Hamas and Iran. So, to the extent that this was designed to try to derail the efforts that were being made, that speaks volumes. Right now, the focus is on dealing with this attack, dealing with Hamas, and we’ll come to the normalisation efforts.” So, the peace deal is on the back burner now. Right now, the Biden administration has two main priorities - aid for Israel and prevent the conflict from spreading further. But beyond that, there aren’t any good options that lie before the US, and the diplomatic one could be complicated by how Israel fights this war. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost’s views. Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.