2024-02-17 08:53:08
The American envoy for humanitarian affairs: The situation in Gaza is tragic and Hamas does not care about the lives of civilians
Ambassador David Satterfield, Special Envoy for Humanitarian Affairs to the Middle East, defended Israel and American support for the Israeli government and its plans to eliminate the Hamas movement, which he accused of not caring about the lives of the civilian population in Gaza. Satterfield stressed the priority of President Biden’s administration to complete a deal that leads to the release of hostages and the extension of the ceasefire, without this enabling Hamas to emerge victorious, and he ruled out the possibility of the outbreak of a wide regional war despite the dangers of skirmishes on the Lebanese-Israeli border and the dangers of Houthi attacks. On merchant ships.
In an online conference on Friday, held by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, veteran politician Aaron David Miller asked about the humanitarian situation, health care for Palestinian civilians, and the obstacles to providing humanitarian aid. He pointed to international concerns that the Israeli campaign is considered one of the most violent campaigns in the twenty-first century and has led to a huge rise in the number of Palestinian deaths, and what could constitute a humanitarian catastrophe for more than two million people in Rafah.
American efforts
In his answer, Satterfield focused on American efforts to help the Palestinians, noting that after the events of October 7, Israel besieged Gaza and refused to allow a drop of water or a drop of fuel to enter. He said: “During Secretary Anthony Blinken’s visit, we were able to send 20 trucks of humanitarian aid daily.” Since October 21, today the Kerem Salem crossing and checkpoints are open and working, and 250 to 300 aid trucks can be transported to feed two million residents of Gaza. This is a major achievement and credit goes to American efforts.” He added: “There is still much to be done and humanitarian aid must flow more safely to all parts of Gaza, but the health situation is tragic and health facilities have been damaged in this fighting because they were used for (Hamas’) training purposes, and according to Israel The operation at Nasser Hospital revealed many of those who participated in the October 7 attacks.”
Satterfield acknowledged the difficult health situation, the lack of shelter for civilians, and the difficulty of protecting them and returning them to the northern Gaza Strip, noting that the Israeli army is still conducting campaigns in northern Gaza and the Hamas movement is challenging the army. He explained that despite the damage to the roads, President Joe Biden indicated the need for them to be able to reach the north and provide humanitarian aid.
A ceasefire would be a gift to Hamas.
The US envoy for humanitarian affairs stressed that the key to protecting civilians and addressing the current situation is a permanent ceasefire as part of a deal to release the hostages. He said: “We do not support an independent ceasefire, because this would be a gift to Hamas, and it must be within the framework of a deal to release the hostages accompanied by a long ceasefire or a continuous extension of the ceasefire, and this would give the international community the opportunity to deliver aid.” “Humanitarianism for all parts of Gaza and an opportunity to mitigate the effects of the trauma in Israel when the hostages are released.”
Regarding the nature of the obstacles hindering progress in the negotiations between Israel and Hamas, and whether the month of Ramadan constitutes a calculation in accelerating the movements of the two sides to reach a deal, Satterfield said, “I believe that reaching an agreement is possible. We have not reached it yet, but we see that it is achievable.” . There are difficult issues related to completing this deal, and without going into details, Hamas is suffering from Israel’s progress in the fighting, and Israel’s obtaining better information about the leadership structures and the way Hamas operates, and there is a realization that releasing the hostages has a price, and I understand that there will be a price. “It must be paid, but this price must be measured by what is achieved.”
The American official pointed out that “the vast majority of Israelis believe that those who committed the October 7 attack are detaining their relatives and benefiting from the provision of humanitarian aid, while the United States and the international community believe that providing humanitarian support achieves strategic goals in Gaza, and is morally correct to alleviate the situation.” “The suffering of 2.2 million people is important for Israel in the future, just as it is important for the Americans.”
Regarding American-Israeli relations and the Biden administration’s exceptional support for Israel, Satterfield said: “President Biden believes that this is the morally correct thing that must be done, and that the massacre of the Jews that occurred on October 7 must be met with a reaction that prevents this from happening.” Once again, he prevents Hamas from emerging victorious, and also for the sake of broader American interests, and he (Biden) believes that this is the right thing to do.
Aaron David Miller asked about the difficult balance that Biden is trying to maintain, between supporting Israel and addressing the suffering of civilians, and Satterfield responded by refusing to use the term balance and saying that it is “complete moral clarity because every death causes pain.” During his recent visit to Israel, Secretary Blinken spoke about the dehumanization of Hamas with its attacks on October 7 and its hostage-taking, and it is important that Israel does not dehumanize.
Satterfield categorically rejected calls to restrict US military aid to Israel, and said: “It is about the calculations that any president must make in these circumstances because it is about what is effective to achieve the goal of eliminating Hamas and limiting its ability to remain in Gaza to pose a threat to Israel and the region.” In its entirety. Removing the hostages is necessary and there is no higher priority, and the President is right (to refuse to freeze or suspend military aid) because that threatens the basic foundation of support for Israel at the present time, and stopping our military aid would be morally wrong, and would lead to results completely opposite to the goals that we want to achieve. ».
Regional war fears
Regarding fears of the outbreak of a regional war with multiple tension fronts in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen, Satterfield ruled out the outbreak of a broader conflict that would lead to a regional war, including a conflict between the United States and Iran, considering that this constitutes “a great disappointment for Yahya Sinwar.”
He said: “(Hezbollah) took symbolic steps and launched rockets on the border to show solidarity as part of the axis of resistance, but this rocket bombardment expanded in scope and size, and caused deaths, and there was a warning that someone might make a mistake, but it is far from what Hamas expected, which is Opening multiple fronts against Israel. The Houthi attacks on ships are very dangerous and there will be multiple steps to respond, and this does not mean the outbreak of war or a regional conflict.”
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