REHOBOS BEACH, Del. (AP) – Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday issued some of the Biden administration’s strongest public criticism yet of Israel’s war effort in Gaza, calling Israeli tactics “innocent civilians. “This represents a terrible loss of human life.” However, it may not be able to neutralize Hamas’ leaders and fighters and could spark a permanent insurgency.
Blinken said in two television interviews that the United States believes Israeli forces should “withdraw from Gaza,” but that he is also waiting for a credible plan from Israel for post-war security and governance in the region. did.
Blinken said the resurgence of Hamas in parts of the Gaza Strip and “violent actions” by Israeli forces in the southern city of Rafah risked placing the United States’ closest Middle East ally “responsible for an enduring insurgency.” He said there is.
He said the United States had been working with Arab countries and others for weeks to develop a “credible plan for security, governance and reconstruction” for the Gaza Strip, but “we have never seen it delivered by Israel. There is no such thing.” …We need to see that too. ”
Blinken also said that as Israel moves further into the southern city of Rafah, where Israel claims Hamas has four battalions and more than 1 million civilians, the military operation is not proceeding. He said it may bring “some initial success” but risks “significant harm” to residents. Without resolving the issue that “we both want to resolve, which is to ensure that Hamas cannot rule Gaza again.”
He said Israel’s war effort left the country with an “insurgency that could lead to a vacuum filled with chaos and anarchy, perhaps filled by Hamas if many armed Hamas remain or leave.” “We are on track to take over.” . We’ve been talking to them about better ways to get lasting results and lasting security. ”
Blinken also spoke to U.S. officials about the findings of the new Biden administration’s report to Congress on Friday that Israel’s use of U.S.-supplied weapons in the Gaza Strip likely violated international humanitarian law. He was the first person to publicly agree with this. The report also said wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for specific airstrikes with certainty.
“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. He cited the “horrible loss of life of innocent civilians.”
Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan expressed concern about ground operations in Rafah and secured Hamas “anywhere in Gaza” in a phone call with his Israeli counterpart Tzachi Hanegbi on Sunday. They reportedly discussed an “alternative course of action” that would lead to defeat. Go to the White House’s summary of the conversation. The White House said Hanegbi “affirmed that Israel takes into account U.S. concerns.”
The war began on October 7 with a Hamas attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians. Approximately 250 people were taken hostage. The Israeli attack has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
U.S. and United Nations officials said Israel has restricted food shipments since Oct. 7, creating a full-scale famine in northern Gaza.
Tensions are rising between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over how to proceed with the war, and at home over U.S. support for Israel, with protests taking place on U.S. college campuses and many Republicans Lawmakers say Biden needs to provide Israel with whatever it needs. This issue could have a major impact on the outcome of November’s presidential election.
Biden said in an interview with CNN last week that his administration would not provide weapons that Israel could use in an all-out offensive in Rafah.
Mr. Blinken appeared on CBS’s “Face the Nation” and NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
Josh Boak, Associated Press
