Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it will be difficult for Israel to prevent civilian deaths in attacks in Gaza and blamed Hamas for “infiltrating” Palestinians who are not part of the terrorist group.
“It is a very difficult challenge [evitar las muertes de civiles], because what Hamas does is intentionally infiltrate among civilians,” Blinken said. “He places his commanders, his command posts, his weapons, his ammunition inside or under residential buildings, schools, mosques and hospitals.”
Blinken, however, assured that the US considers that Israel could take “additional measures” to minimize “civilian casualties and people’s suffering.”
The US official began an interview with Japanese media outlet Yusaku Ishii of NHK – whose transcript was shared by the State Department – defending Israel’s right to respond to the Hamas attacks on October 7.
“We defend and make clear – and many other countries, including in a statement with the G7 countries – that Israel has the right to defend itself to try to ensure that what happened on October 7 never happens again,” Blinken said.
He added that Israel should follow international humanitarian law, although he did not indicate whether there would be repercussions for the deaths of more than 10,000 civilians, 70% of them children and women, according to the United Nations.
“There are measures, additional measures, that we believe Israel can and should take to minimize civilian casualties and people’s suffering,” Blinken said. “At the same time, we are working to dramatically increase humanitarian assistance coming to Gaza so people can get the food, water, medicine and other things they need to live every day.”
Journalist Yusaku Ishii pressed Blinke on whether he believed Israel was doing enough to enable humanitarian aid and minimize civilian casualties.
“We believe there are additional measures that can and should be taken to try to minimize civilian casualties. And that was a big part of the conversation I had this week,” Blinken noted about his trip to Israel.
President Joe Biden acknowledged that Gaza attacks require “a pause”“, in the midst of the urgency for humanitarian aid.
Control of Gaza
In an interview with CBS News, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that his State must assume control and security of Gaza, but Blinken expressed his disagreement in this regard.
“We cannot allow Hamas to rule Gaza, because that simply invites a repeat of October 7,” Blinken said. “We also cannot allow an Israeli reoccupation of Gaza. No one can use it as a platform to launch terrorist attacks. “The Palestinian people cannot be displaced from Gaza.”
There is no clarity on how Israel will be prevented from controlling Gaza, as Netanyahu anticipated, but Blinken said the path will have to be a state for the Palestinians.
“The only way, ultimately, to ensure lasting peace and security is with a better idea, a stronger idea. And clearly, for the United States and many other countries, that idea must be directed towards a Palestinian state,” he emphasized.
President Joe Biden’s administration expects Congress to approve more than $14 billion in military aid for Israel, while supporting “targeted pauses” to maintain humanitarian aid, according to John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council of the White House.
Keep reading:
· Israel-Hamas conflict: United States deploys nuclear submarine to “send a message” to other countries and terrorists
· Netanyahu affirms that after the war Israel will have “responsibility for security” in Gaza
· United in pain: the Palestinian father and the Israeli father twinned by the death of their daughters