US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated at a war cabinet meeting on Thursday that Israel needs to alter its strategy in the southern part of Gaza and lacks “credit” to continue the fight against Hamas for months, according to Israel’s Channel 12.
Blinken was in Jerusalem for talks with the cabinet responsible for managing the fight against the militant Palestinian group and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Somehow, some of the meeting’s statements ended up to Channel 12, the most watched commercial TV channel in Israel, where they were shown on Thursday night.
“You cannot conduct business in the southern part of Gaza the same manner as you did in the northern part. At one point, Blinken stated, “There are two million Palestinians there,” as per a Times of Israel translation from Hebrew.
The US ambassador went on, “You need to make sure that there are enough protected areas, evacuate fewer people from their homes, and be more accurate in your attacks.” You also need to avoid hitting UN buildings. And in the event that it doesn’t? Then refrain from attacking areas inhabited by civilians.
In response to Defence Minister Yoav Gallant’s statement that the goal of deconstructing Hamas is shared by all Israeli society, “even if it takes months,” Blinken responded, “I don’t think you have the credit for that.”
The leaked statements also showed that Israel opposes the Palestinian Authority ruling Gaza because, in Netanyahu’s words, it “supports, educates, and finances terror.”
The US is aware of this, according to Blinken, but “other states in the region need to know what you are planning” since “bringing a better idea is the best way to kill an idea.”
Washington has supported Israel’s offensive against Gaza following the October 7th Hamas raid, which is thought to have killed 1,200 Israelis. But since then, the 16,000 Palestinians who died in the enclave—many of them women and children—have caused public outrage against the US government.
Blinken has “reaffirmed the United States’ support for Israel’s right to protect itself from terrorist violence in compliance with international humanitarian law and urged Israel to take every possible measure to avoid civilian harm,” according to a statement released by the State Department.
According to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, Blinken also called for “immediate steps to hold settler extremists accountable for violence against Palestinians in the West Bank” and stated that the US “remains committed to tangible steps to advance a Palestinian state living in peace, freedom, and security alongside Israel.”
