The Cost of Strong American Support at the Start of the War

America's support might also entail a weakened ability for Israel to end the war on the terms necessary to achieve victory and to make the next war less likely.

The unprecedented scope and scale of the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel has elicited a largely unprecedented Israeli and international response. To understand the aftermath of the Hamas-led invasion of Israel, it is useful to think of a three-part timeline, and best to consider the first and third phases before turning to the second.

The first phase, which is almost over, is one of shock and immediate responses. In Israel, it has included hunting down the invaders, treating the wounded, accounting for the missing, declaring war, launching airstrikes on terrorist targets in Gaza, mobilizing the reserves, preparing the public for the difficult weeks and months ahead, and forming an emergency unity government. In the United States, Europe, and elsewhere, phase one has featured strong declarations of sympathy and support from political leaders, offers of assistance for Israel, and condemnation of the Palestinian murderers, kidnappers, and rapists. This first phase is hot, raw, and emotional. For those with even the barest minimum of human empathy, it is also the easiest to get right.

President Joe Biden, who is both outraged about last Saturday’s atrocities and empathetic to the Jewish state, deserves full credit for responding precisely as the situation requires. From day one, the president, his secretary of defense, Lloyd Austin, and (after some fleeting initial missteps) his secretary of state, Antony Blinken, have said and done all the right things. The first planeload of American military supplies already landed at an air base in the Negev on October 10, with more on the way. Freshly but permanently scarred by their losses and their feelings of vulnerability and solitude, Israelis across the political spectrum have expressed their deep gratitude to the president for his powerful words of support and commitment that same day. Longtime observers of U.S.-Israel relations correctly pointed to Biden’s speech as exceptionally heartfelt, resolute, and practical.