US weighs swift aid boost for Israel against Hamas

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US is considering Israeli requests for additional military aid after the sweeping attack by Hamas and signalled an announcement is likely on Sunday.

The US is looking into reports that US citizens were killed or taken hostage in the surprise attack and is looking into whether Iran might have been directly involved, though there's no immediate evidence of that, Blinken said in interviews with multiple US networks Sunday.

“In this moment, we don't have anything that shows us that Iran was directly involved in this attack, in planning it or in carrying it out,” Blinken said on NBC's Meet the Press. “But that's something we're looking at very carefully, and we've got to see where the facts lead. But we do know that Iran's had a long relationship with Hamas, long support.”


A key question is how the US could assist in Israel's response to attack.

Blinken cited a memorandum of understanding signed under former President Barack Obama to provide Israel with $3.8 billion a year in US military assistance.

“We are looking at specific additional requests that the Israelis have made,” he said on CNN. “I think you're likely to hear more about that later today.”

On ABC, Blinken put the number of Hamas militants who infiltrated Israel at about 1,000. At the same time, he called for Israeli restraint.