Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeatedly avoided endorsing calls for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel–Hamas conflict, insisting Israel not only has the right to defend itself after an unprecedented attack by the Hamas terrorist group, but also to make sure Hamas cannot carry out similar attacks in the future.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have been trading fire with Hamas for more than two weeks after Hamas gunmen breached the Gaza barrier and killed hundreds of civilians on Oct. 7.
“No country can be expected to tolerate this, to live with this. And as we’ve said from the start, Israel has both the right and even the obligation not only to defend itself but to try to make sure that, to the best of its ability, this can’t happen again,” Mr. Blinken said in an interview with CBS News host Margaret Brennan on Sunday.
The IDF has carried out retaliatory airstrikes and limited raids inside the Gaza Strip while Hamas and other Palestinian factions continue to fire rockets from the Gaza Strip. The ongoing fighting raises the possibility that hostages taken by Hamas and other civilian Gaza residents may be caught in the crossfire.
During their interview, Ms. Brennan noted an Oct. 20 report by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), which estimated as many as 1,524 children have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of fighting on Oct. 7. She then asked why the United States hasn’t called on Israel to impose an at least temporary ceasefire to address those humanitarian concerns.
“When I hear the stories, when I see the pictures of young children who have lost their lives in this conflict of Hamas’s making—whoever they are, wherever they are, whether they’re Palestinians, whether they’re Israelis, whether they’re Jews or Muslims—it hits me and I know it hits virtually everyone right in the heart,” Mr. Blinken replied. “And that’s why it’s so important to do everything possible to protect them, and why it’s so important to do everything possible to get assistance to those who need it—food, medicine, water.”
Ms. Brennan again pressed Mr. Blinken for his specific stance on a temporary ceasefire.
“Israel has to do everything it can to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Freezing things in place where they are now would allow Hamas to remain where it is and to repeat what it’s done some time in the future. No country could accept that,” Mr. Blinken replied.
Both the U.S. and Israeli governments have designated Hamas as a terrorist organization and President Joe Biden has backed some Israeli officials calling for Hamas’s total destruction.
“This is on Hamas. And the fact is Hamas doesn’t represent the Palestinian people. It doesn’t represent their just cause. It doesn’t represent their aspiration, and legitimate aspiration, for a state of their own,” Mr. Blinken said on Sunday. “On the contrary, it does everything to make life worse and more miserable.”
In advance of carrying out retaliatory strikes targeting Hamas, Israel warned Palestinians to flee to safe zones in the south of Gaza and has restricted the flow of food, water, fuel, and electricity. Despite making no specific call for a ceasefire, Mr. Blinken noted the Biden administration had worked with Israel to allow about 20 aid trucks to enter the Gaza Strip in recent days.
Biden Faces Calls for Ceasefire
Mr. Blinken’s ceasefire comments appear to be at odds with some Democratic lawmakers. Last week, Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and several other members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus brought forward a resolution that calls on the Biden administration to immediately request and facilitate efforts towards a ceasefire.
“I am grieving for every Palestinian, Israeli, and American life lost to this violence, and my heart breaks for all those who will be forever traumatized because of it. War and retaliatory violence doesn’t achieve accountability or justice; it only leads to more death and human suffering,” Ms. Bush said in a statement announcing the resolution.
Over the weekend, dozens of artists and entertainers added their names to a letter asking President Biden to push for a ceasefire.
“We urge your administration, and all world leaders, to honor all of the lives in the Holy Land and call for and facilitate a ceasefire without delay – an end to the bombing of Gaza, and the safe release of hostages. Half of Gaza’s two million residents are children, and more than two thirds are refugees and their descendants being forced to flee their homes. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach them,” the letter reads.