United States (US) MINISTER of Foreign Affairs Antony Blinken said Israel has no credible plan to protect the 1.4 million Palestinian civilians in Rafah. He warned that an Israeli offensive in the region would fail to eradicate Hamas fighters.
“Israel is on track to potentially inherit an insurgency with many armed Hamas fighters remaining or if Israel leaves a vacuum filled by chaos, filled by anarchy and perhaps refilled by Hamas,” Blinken said on NBC’s Meet the Press, Sunday (12/ 5).
According to him, Hamas fighters have returned to the northern Gaza area which Israel claims has been cleared and the attack on Rafah risks causing major losses to civilians without ending Hamas’ presence.
Israel’s planned invasion of Rafah has sparked the deepest tensions in relations between Israel and its main ally for generations, the US. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan expressed President Joe Biden’s concern over Israel’s massive attack on Rafah.
AFP/JOHAN ORDONEZ—US Secretary of State Antony Blinken
He conveyed the message in a phone call with his Israeli counterpart, Tzachi Hanegbi, a White House statement said. Sullivan discussed alternative measures to ensure the defeat of Hamas in Gaza.
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Hanegbi emphasized that Israel was taking US concerns into consideration, he said without elaborating. NBC and CBS News broadcast interviews with Blinken that were dominated by Biden’s decision to stop sending bombs to Israel.
The US is concerned about the large number of civilian casualties in Rafah. A US State Department report said Israel’s use of US-supplied weapons may have violated international law.
The report, which was not related to the bomb shipments, found no specific violations that would justify cutting off US military aid. The chaos of war precluded verification of alleged individual abuses.
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“Hamas’ use of civilian infrastructure and tunnels makes it very difficult to determine, especially in the midst of war, what happened in a particular case,” Blinken said, defending the report, which was criticized by some Democratic lawmakers and human rights groups.
Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders rejected the report, saying any observer knows Israel has violated international law and should not receive a cent in US military aid.
In contrast, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham called Biden’s delay in bomb aid the worst decision in the history of US-Israel relations.
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“Give Israel the bombs they need to end the war and work with them to minimize casualties,” he said.
Defending a pause in supplies of 3,500 2,000-pound and 500-pound bombs, Blinken said Israel has no credible plan to protect the estimated 1.4 million civilians sheltering in Rafah.
He said the supply stoppage was the only US arms package being held. But that could change, he said, if Israel launches a major attack on Rafah, which Israel says it will attack to root out entrenched Hamas fighters.
“If Israel launches a major military operation into Rafah, there are certain systems that we will not support and supply for that operation,” Blinken said.
Israel needs to have a clear and credible plan to protect civilians, the likes of which we have never seen before.
Most of the 1.4 million Palestinian residents of Rafah have fled elsewhere due to fighting and Israeli bombardment that has devastated the coastal enclave.
Israel also has not developed a post-war plan for Gaza’s security, governance and reconstruction, Blinken said. The US is designing the plan with Arab governments and other countries.
“We have the same goals as Israel. “We want to ensure that Hamas cannot rule Gaza again,” he said.
He added the US had discussed with Israel more effective and lasting ways to demilitarize Gaza and find Hamas leaders.
Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip have killed at least 35,000 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip health ministry.
The war was sparked by a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7 that killed around 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages, according to an Israeli tally. Israel said 620 soldiers were killed. (CNA/Z-1)
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