WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that the Jewish state cannot continue operations against the Hamas terror group until its military has a clear plan to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip.
“I made it clear that before Israel continues a major military operation, it must put in place a humanitarian civilian protection plan that minimizes further casualties of innocent Palestinians,” said Blinken, making his fourth visit to Israel since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that killed an estimated 1,200. people.
“This means taking more effective measures to protect civilian lives, including clearly and precisely designating areas in places in southern and central Gaza where they can be safe and out of the line of fire.”
Hamas’ war crime tactics operating from public buildings — including hospitals and schools — have made protecting innocent lives extremely challenging for Israel, Israel Defense Forces officials told The Post.
Thousands of Palestinians have died in the conflict before a ceasefire came into force on 24 November.
The secretary and prime minister spoke shortly after Israel announced it had reached an agreement with Hamas to extend their ceasefire in exchange for the release of additional hostages, which Blinken called a “good thing” in a statement to the press on Thursday.
“I know that for Israel, for the United States, for several other countries around the world that have their citizens held hostage by Hamas, we want every hostage to come home,” he said.
“So we’re looking to see if this can continue.”
Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel cannot continue operations against Hamas which has a clear plan to protect civilians. via REUTERS
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Although the Biden administration began strongly in support of Israel’s desire to eliminate Hamas, its message has softened in recent weeks following protests from left-wing and anti-Israel groups.
Although Blinken told Netanyahu that the US would continue to support the Jewish state when it returned to war, he said the aid was provided on the condition of “adherence to international humanitarian law.”
However, America’s top diplomat reiterated that since the beginning of the war, the US has maintained that “Israel has the right to do everything possible to ensure that the slaughter of Hamas on October 7 cannot be repeated.”
“Hamas cannot remain in control of Gaza,” Blinken told reporters after their meeting.
“They cannot maintain the ability to repeat the massacre.”
“I made it clear that before Israel continues a major military operation, it must put in place a humanitarian civilian protection plan that minimizes further casualties of innocent Palestinians,” Blinken said. GPO Circulation/AMOS BEN-GERSHOM/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
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Since the lull in fighting began, Israel has been under increasing international pressure not to renew its attacks after the deal ends.
But Netanyahu on Thursday reiterated to Blinken that his country intends to eliminate Hamas – one of the two goals of its war.
“We will fight Hamas until we win, no matter how long it takes,” the prime minister said Thursday.
“It’s a just war. This is a war to end Hamas, ISIS Gaza. And it’s a war to bring the hostages home — for as long as it takes.”
Another goal – returning all of the roughly 240 hostages held by the jihadist group – is slowly being pursued during the truce, with Hamas agreeing to release at least 10 each day.
Hamas’ war crime tactics operating from public buildings — including hospitals and schools — have made protecting innocent lives extremely challenging for Israel, Israel Defense Forces officials told The Post. ZUMAPRESS.com
The Israel-Hamas War: How we got here
2005: Israel unilaterally withdraws from the Gaza Strip more than three decades after winning the territory from Egypt in the Six-Day War.
2006: The terrorist group Hamas wins Palestinian legislative elections.
2007: Hamas takes control of Gaza in a civil war.
2008: Israel launched a military offensive against Gaza after Palestinian terrorists fired rockets into the city of Sderot.
2023: Hamas launches its biggest attack on Israel in 50 years, in an early morning ambush on Oct. 7, firing thousands of rockets and sending dozens of militants into Israeli cities.
The terrorists killed over 1,200 Israelis, injured over 4,200, and took at least 200 hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quickly announced, “We are at war,” and promised Hamas would pay “an unprecedented price.”
Gaza’s Ministry of Health – which is controlled by Hamas – reports at least 3,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 12,500 injured since the war began.
Keep up with the news on the Israel-Hamas war and the surge in global antisemitism with The Post’s Israel War Updates, delivered straight to your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
As of Thursday, 104 hostages have been sent home while another 143 are still being held in Gaza.
Following his talks with Netanyahu, Blinken traveled to the West Bank to meet with Mahmoud Abbas, president of the territory’s Palestinian Authority, which also controlled Gaza until Hamas seized control in 2006.
Blinken has made it clear that he believes the best outcome for Gaza following the conflict is for the Palestinian Authority to return to power there, because “we cannot have … Israel running or controlling” the territory where some 2 million Palestinians live, he said. earlier this month.
In both Israeli and Palestinian meetings, the secretary said he “discussed our continued focus on preventing the conflict from spreading, whether to the West Bank, to Israel’s northern border, or to the wider region.”
“I raised our deep concern about measures that could increase tensions in the West Bank, including extremist violence, and proposals from part of the Israeli coalition government to further expand settlements,” he said.
“I made clear expectations about addressing this issue.”
He further said that “breaking the cycle of violence” between Israel and the Arab world will require further engagement with both sides to “discuss practical steps to create a just and lasting peace.”
“We have no illusions – this will not be easy. We will definitely have disagreements,” he said. “If we are going to move forward with practical steps towards lasting peace [and] security, we need to be prepared to overcome this disagreement.
“Because the alternative – more terrorist attacks, more violence, more innocent suffering – is unacceptable.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
