Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday delivered one of the Biden administration’s strongest public rebukes to Israel, which is in the midst of a war with Hamas in Gaza.
Blinken said in two television interviews that the United States wants Israeli forces to “withdraw from Gaza” amid what he described as “the horrific loss of innocent civilian life.”
He also said Israeli tactics in the war have failed to neutralize Hamas, potentially creating a power “vacuum” in the Palestinian territories.
When asked about the US withholding high-capacity bombs from Israel, a US ally, Blinken said: First, we need to have a clear and credible plan to protect civilians, which we haven’t seen yet. Secondly, we also need to see a plan for what will happen after this conflict in Gaza ends. And we haven’t seen it yet. Because what are we seeing now? We are seeing parts of Gaza where Israel has removed Hamas, and Hamas is returning, including in the north, including Khan Yunis. ”
He added: “If you look at Rafa, they may come in and have some initial success, but they can take an incredible toll on civilians, and it’s not durable. It’s not sustainable. And no matter what they do in Rafah, or even if they leave and escape Gaza, as we believe they need to do, many armed Hamas will remain. This would leave them responsible for a lasting insurgency, which would likely be filled by chaos and anarchy, and eventually by Hamas again. .”
The comment was made during an appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation.”
In an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Blinken also highlighted the findings of the new Biden administration’s report to Congress on Friday, which said Israel used U.S.-supplied weapons in the Gaza Strip. He was the first official to repeat this in public. This is likely to be a violation of international humanitarian law.
“Given the use of weapons and the totality of the harm inflicted on children, women and men, it is reasonable to assess that Israel has acted in certain instances in a manner inconsistent with Israeli actions.” “International humanitarian law,” Blinken said, condemning the “horrible loss of life of innocent civilians.”
“We treat Israel, one of our closest allies and partners, as we would any other country, including assessing things like international humanitarian law and its compliance,” he said. continued.
In the same interview, Blinken praised President Biden’s support for Israel, saying, “No one has done more than Biden,” despite a clear change in tone.
“No one has acted more to protect Israel at critical junctures than President Biden,” the secretary of state said.
“He was there for several days after October 7, when Iran launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, becoming the first president to visit Israel in the midst of the conflict. A few weeks ago in Israel 300 projectiles, including ballistic missiles, were launched.For the first time in history, the United States participated in a defense action, and President Biden rallied a coalition of countries to help defend Israel.
Blinken spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday and reiterated U.S. opposition to the Israeli attack given the civilian casualties in Rafah, according to a State Department recount of phone calls.
He said the United States has been working with Arab countries and others for weeks to develop a “credible plan for security, governance, and reconstruction” for the Gaza Strip, but that “we cannot wait for it to be provided by Israel.” I’ve never seen it before,” he said. …We need to see that too. ”
More than 1 million Palestinians are forced to live in Rafah as Israel launches an offensive across Gaza. Israel considers the city one of the last strongholds of Hamas terrorists.
The war began on October 7 after a Hamas attack on Israel killed 1,200 people.
