ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Sunshine Skyway Bridge will look a little different this week.
Under the direction of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, the bridge will illuminate blue and white colors for the rest of the week to represent the colors of the Israel flag amid the country's conflict with Hamas.
“The terrorist attacks carried out on Israel over the past few days are horrific and as Americans and as Floridians, we stand with the people of Israel in this trying time,” DeSantis said in a statement. “As I previously directed the Department of Management Services to light the Historic Capitol, I’ve directed FDOT to light the Sunshine Skyway Bridge blue and white to show our support for Israel.”
The bridge, which is no stranger to being lit up to represent certain subjects in the past, will have a blue and white pattern on its columns.
DeSantis is not the only political figure to comment on Israel's situation.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden condemned the militant group Hamas for “sheer evil” for its shocking multipronged attack on Israel launched from the Gaza Strip that has killed hundreds of civilians, including at least 14 American citizens.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke by phone earlier on Tuesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the situation on the ground. Biden spoke out of the actions he and other allies have taken to support Israel in the aftermath of the attack and expressed his horror about “sickening” reports of torture inflicted by militants on innocent civilians.
“Our hearts may be broken but our resolve is clear," Biden said. He added, “Let there be no doubt. The United States has Israel’s back. We’ll make sure the Jewish and democratic state of Israel can defend itself today, tomorrow as we always have.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.