Biden to seek billions in military aid for Israel as invasion of Gaza nears

US President Joe Biden asked Americans to spend billions more dollars to help Israel fight Hamas while Israel’s defence chief told his troops to be ready to go into the Gaza Strip.

In a televised White House speech late on Thursday that also addressed Ukraine’s effort to repel Russia’s invasion, Biden said Hamas sought to “annihilate” Israel’s democracy.

Israel appeared to be getting closer to a full-scale invasion of Gaza, a densely populated enclave ruled by Hamas. The Israeli military has massed troops and equipment near the Gaza border.

Biden said he would ask Congress on Friday to approve extra funding for “critical partner” Israel. A person familiar with the matter earlier said that would total $14 billion.

Some 3,500 people in Gaza have been killed and more than a million have been made homeless, according to Palestinian health officials. Israel has also imposed a siege on Gaza, and civilians say their situation is desperate as they run short of food, water, fuel and medical supplies.

“All the indications are that the worst is coming,” Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi told reporters in Amman.

During an eight-hour visit to Tel Aviv on Wednesday, Biden sought to broker a deal to get aid into Gaza but had only limited success.

He said Israel and Egypt agreed that 20 trucks with relief supplies could cross into the enclave. Two Egyptian security sources said equipment was sent on Thursday through its border crossing to repair roads on the Gaza side. More than 100 trucks were waiting in Egypt.

The crossing has been out of operation amid Israeli bombardments on the Palestinian side of the border.

The United Nations has called for aid to return to pre-conflict levels of 100 trucks a day. Secretary General Antonio Guterres planned to visit the Rafah border crossing from Egypt to Gaza on Friday.

Meanwhile, an explosion at a Gaza hospital on Wednesday that enraged the Arab world and the anticipated Israeli ground invasion have heightened fears of the conflict spreading.

Gaza’s interior ministry said 21 Palestinians were killed and 71 injured overnight in Israeli air strikes targeting homes in the southern city of Khan Younis, and that rescue workers were searching for victims under the rubble.

The Pentagon on Thursday said a U.S. Navy warship intercepted three cruise missiles and several drones launched by the Houthi movement from Yemen potentially toward Israel.