Israeli attack on Rafah will not end Hamas: Antony Blanken

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blanken said on Sunday that an all-out attack by Israel on Rafah, Gaza City, would fuel “anarchy” without eliminating Hamas.

According to the French news agency AFP, US national security adviser Jack Sullivan also emphasized Washington’s concerns about the attack during a telephone conversation with his Israeli counterpart, Zachary Hanegbi.

A White House statement said Sullivan reiterated President Joe Biden’s longstanding concern about a major military ground operation in Rafah.

The statement said Hanegbi “confirmed that Israel is taking US concerns into account.”

300,000 Gazans have been displaced due to the Israeli bombardment in the eastern areas of Rafah.

Top officials from the United States and other countries, as well as the United Nations, have warned that an all-out attack on Rafah could have devastating effects on refugees.

Israel says it is trying to keep civilian casualties to a minimum.

But when Anthony Blanken was asked on the CBS program “Face the Nation” if the United States agreed with Binyamin Netanyahu’s statement that since the offensive began, Israeli forces have killed more civilians than Hamas militants. , so they simply replied, ‘Yes, we agree.’

Blanken said a full-scale attack could be “potentially incredibly costly” and that even a large-scale assault on Rafah was unlikely to end the Hamas threat.

“Israel is likely on a path in which it will inherit an insurgency with an armed Hamas, or if Israel leaves chaos and anarchy, Hamas will regain control,” he said. ‘

Blanken also confirmed that President Joe Biden has withheld the delivery of 3,500 high-capacity bombs to Israel and that the United States is pressing him to better protect civilians and avoid an attack on Rafah.

He said the US is pressuring Israeli leaders to come up with a plan for Gaza after the aggression ends.

“We’re talking to them about the best way to get sustainable results,” he told NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

The US diplomat said that Hamas militants have already returned to some areas of northern Gaza.

According to the US State Department, Antony Blanken also spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yves Galant on Sunday and stressed that the US is against Israel’s major ground operation in Rafah.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement that the secretary of state “stressed the urgent need to protect civilians and aid workers in Gaza.”

According to the statement, Blanken urged Yves Gallant to ensure that aid can flow into Gaza and help deal with the divisive issues within Gaza.

A report released by the US State Department on Friday said Israel may have violated international law in using US weapons. Asked about the report, Antony Blanken said the evidence was still insufficient to stop all military aid.

“The chaos and dangerous conditions of the ongoing offensive have made it ‘very difficult’ to determine what is going on in a specific operation, or what weapons have been used,” he said.