‘Familiar dance’: Israel has ‘wider remit to kill, destroy’, US will eventually ‘call for restraint’

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Friday that the Pentagon was ready to deploy more military aid to Israel as Israeli forces prepare for a likely invasion of Gaza in response to a devastating attack by militant group Hamas. Austin said that munitions, air defence capabilities and other equipment and resources were “rapidly flowing” to Washington’s closest Middle Eastern ally. Israel has vowed to crush Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist movement that rules Gaza. Israel launched its heaviest ever bombardment of the Gaza Strip after Hamas carried out an unprecedented and shocking cross-border attack into southern Israel on Oct. 7. Israel’s response, which has already involved dropping thousands of bombs on Gaza, is expected to intensify as it prepares a possible ground assault on the narrow, densely populated coastal strip. Austin cautioned that it was a time for “resolve” and not “revenge”. As US readies to send more military aid to Israel, FRANCE 24’s William Hilderbrandt is joined by Hussein Ibish, Senior Resident Scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute (AGSIW) in Washington. He is also a weekly columnist for The National (UAE) and a regular contributor to The New York Times and The Daily Beast.