US leaders' position on Ukraine contributed to developments in Israel - former US Vice President

Mike Pence, Vice President during Trump's presidency, said this on CNN.

Commenting on the Hamas attack on Israel, Pence first criticized the current US President Joe Biden, whose attempts to reach an agreement with Iran created the conditions for this unprecedented terrorist attack, according to him.

“That disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan has emboldened the enemies of freedom around the world and now war is raging in Eastern Europe and President Joe Biden’s kowtowing for the last two and a half years to the mullahs in Iran, lifting sanctions, begging them to get back into the Iran nuclear deal and then paying $6 billion in a ransom for hostages, I think set the conditions for this unprecedented terrorist attack by Hamas against Israel," Pence said.

Mike Pence also criticized the statements of former US President Donald Trump and US presidential candidates Ron DeSantis and Vivek Ramaswamy. He accused them of inciting wars in Ukraine and Israel.

"I also believe this is what happens when we have leading voices like Donald Trump, Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis signaling a retreat from America’s role as leader of the free world. What happened in Ukraine was an unprovoked invasion by Russia. What happened this weekend was an unprovoked invasion by Hamas into Israel and I believe now more than ever, both the debate within the Republican Party and the debate within America is whether or not we’re going to once again stand without apology as the leader of the free world, as the arsenal of democracy," he said.

Events in Israel: latest updates

On the morning of Saturday, October 7, 2023, the Palestinian armed groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad launched a massive air and land attack on the state of Israel in several places. The head of the Hamas military wing, Mohammed Deif, said that his militants had launched the Al-Aqsa Flood operation. According to him, these actions are intended to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

The Palestinians launched 2,000 to 3,000 missiles at Israel and simultaneously seized 7 communities in the south.

In response, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced the mobilization of reservists and the launch of the Iron Swords counterterrorism operation. For the first time in 50 years, the government introduced martial law in the country. 

The IDF actively used aviation to strike Palestinian command posts. It has also begun clearing Hamas-occupied communities.

In addition, there is a great threat that the Shiite Hezbollah could attack Israel from the north, as its main partner and supplier, the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), has called on jihadists to "liberate Jerusalem."

On the morning of October 8, the Saudi television channel Al Arabiya published the losses of both Palestinians and Israelis during the first day of the renewed military conflict. According to the channel, Israel lost 300 people killed and at least 1,600 wounded. The number of casualties from the Palestinian-populated Gaza Strip is 232 killed and 1,627 wounded. 

On October 8, Israeli troops claimed that Lebanon had attacked their territory, so the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) attacked in response. In particular, Israeli aviation struck a complex belonging to the head of Hamas' intelligence.

Militants of the Lebanese military-political organization Hezbollah fired at Israeli positions on the border with the disputed Golan Heights and supported Hamas in its operation against Israel.