U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Sunday that the potential disruption of normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia may have been a motive behind the attack launched by the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Israel. Blinken, in an interview with CNN, mentioned that the United States is aware of reports concerning the deaths of several Americans in Israel and is working to verify them. He pointed out that he "sees no evidence of Iran's involvement in the recent attack in Israel," noting that it is "experiencing its worst attack since 1973." Blinken confirmed that Washington will announce a new aid package for Israel on Sunday, stating that the details of this U.S. assistance will be disclosed later, and he described the assault on Israel as "a terrorist attack carried out by a terrorist organization."
The U.S. State Department reported that Blinken encouraged continued Turkish involvement in calming the situation following Hamas's attacks on Israel. Meanwhile, U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer remarked that "it is too early to determine how the attack on Israel occurred, the possible role Iran may have played, or whether the attack aimed to disrupt normalization talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel." He told Fox News: "We believe it is in the interest of both countries to continue working on this matter," referring to the efforts of Saudi Arabia and Israel to normalize their relations.
