Secretary of State Antony Blinken conceded that “it’s possible” for Israel to develop an acceptable plan for an assault on Hamas bastions in Rafah that considers its humanitarian implications.
“Yes, it’s possible, but we haven’t seen it,” Blinken told reporters Wednesday at the State Department. “But, right now, that’s all in the realm of hypotheticals because we haven’t seen a plan. So we look to that.”
Blinken made that allowance amid a spiraling rhetorical dispute between President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu surrounding months of tensions over Israel’s approach to the humanitarian consequences of the war in Gaza. Biden implied recently that he regards a Rafah campaign as “a red line,” but a senior Biden adviser dismissed the term as “a bit of a national security parlor game” when pressed for details.
“For the president, he’s really focused … on his concern about the protection of civilians and about Israel being able to sustain a campaign in a way that ultimately leads to an outcome in which the people of Israel are secure, Hamas is crushed, and there is a long-term solution to stability and peace in the region,” White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Tuesday. “He believes there is a path to do that, and that path does not lie in smashing into Rafah, where there are 1.3 million people, in the absence of a credible plan to deal with the population there.”
Israeli officials have signaled their determination to attack the city, where Hamas battalions have established positions among the 1.4 million Palestinian civilians estimated to be seeking refuge from the war.
“Extraordinary work is being done here above and below ground, the forces reach everywhere and the conclusion is that there is no safe place in Gaza for terrorists,” Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Wednesday, per the Times of Israel. “Even those who think that we are delaying will soon see that we will reach everyone.”
Israeli officials have held off on attacking Rafah in recent weeks, in part to allow for a fraught negotiation to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for a temporary ceasefire and other concessions from Israel, but Hamas is using the hostages as leverage to push for a full halt to the Israeli campaign and a withdrawal of Israel Defense Forces from the Gaza Strip.
“There’s a very strong proposal on the table right now,” Blinken said. “Does Hamas want to end the suffering that it has provoked? The question is there, but I can tell you that we’re intensely engaged every single day, almost every single hour, with Qatar, with Egypt, to see if we can get a ceasefire agreement that will get the hostages out, get more aid in, and create a pathway perhaps for a more lasting, secure solution.”
Even so, Blinken said that Israel’s effort to facilitate humanitarian aid “remains insufficient” despite months of prodding from the United States.
“Israel still needs to open as many access points as possible and keep them open to make sure that things are flowing in a sustainable way,” Blinken said. “We need to see flooding the zone when it comes to humanitarian assistance for Gaza.”
Blinken has played a prominent role in pressing Israel to show more consideration for Palestinian civilians.
“We’ve had significant ups and downs, periods of interruption, disruption,” he said. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way. We look to the government of Israel to make sure that this is a priority: protecting civilians, getting people the assistance they need. That has to be job No. 1 even as they do what is necessary to defend the country and to deal with the threat posed by Hamas.”
The tensions over that issue erupted over the weekend after Biden stated that he believes Netanyahu’s approach to the war is harming Israel’s interests more than it is helping. The controversy worsened after the Monday publication of a U.S. intelligence report in which American officials assessed that “Netanyahu’s viability as leader as well as his governing coalition of far-right and ultraorthodox parties that pursued hardline policies on Palestinian and security issues may be in jeopardy.”
The report infuriated Netanyahu’s office, prompting “the most senior Israeli political source you can imagine,” as one Israeli broadcaster put it, to accuse Biden of trying to “overthrow” the prime minister. “Israel is not a protectorate of the USA but an independent and democratic country whose citizens are the ones who elect the government,” the senior Israeli official said.
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Blinken maintained that his team is “working closely” with the Israeli government to improve and expand aid deliveries.
“The president’s been very clear: This has to be a priority, and it has to be a priority for Israel,” Blinken said. “It’s the right thing to do; it’s also, I think, profoundly in Israel’s interests to do it. And that’s what we’re working on.”
