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 the military operation “may have some success in the early stages” as Israel moves deeper into the southern Rafah region, but that it will not resolve “issues that we both want to resolve.” He also said that if they did not do so, there was a risk of “severe harm” to the people. Hamas cannot rule Gaza again. More than 1 million Palestinians are flocking to Rafah seeking refuge as Israeli forces launch an offensive across Gaza, but Israel says four battalions of Hamas fighters are also stationed in the city. did.
Blinken said Israel’s war effort left the country with “a vacuum that could be filled with chaos and anarchy, perhaps filled by Hamas, if many armed Hamas remain or leave.” “We are on track to take over the rebellion.” . We’ve been talking to them about better ways to get lasting results and lasting security. ”
Blinken also highlighted the findings of the new Biden administration’s report to Congress on Friday that says Israel likely violated international humanitarian law by using U.S.-supplied weapons in the Gaza Strip. He was the first person to admit this in public. 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.”
Blinken spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Sunday, taking into account the civilian casualties in Rafah and the longstanding U.S. response to the now escalating Israeli attack, according to a State Department recount of phone calls. reiterated its opposition.
Mr. Blinken called on Mr. Gallant to allow humanitarian workers to bring and distribute aid to Gaza. Israel’s attack on Rafah has shut down one of the two main border crossings into the area for a week, and halted most operations as the other was targeted by Hamas rocket attacks. did.
Seven months of fighting and Israel’s limited aid has already caused famine in northern Gaza. Aid groups say humanitarian operations across Gaza are at risk of collapse due to a near-total cutoff of food, medicine and fuel and disruption caused by the Rafah attack.
Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, spoke by phone with his Israeli counterpart, Tzachi Hanegbi, on Sunday, expressing concern about ground operations in Rafah and ensuring Hamas is “anywhere in Gaza.” They reportedly discussed “alternative courses of action” that would lead to their defeat. 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.
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.”
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Contributed by Ellen Knickmeyer.
