Antony Blinken to Israel: taking Rafah would not eliminate Hamas

The US has heightened pressure against all-out assault by Israel on Rafah, with the Secretary of State saying it would bring ‘anarchy’ without eliminating Hamas.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks at the State Department in Washington last week. Picture: AFP

An all-out Israeli offensive on the Gaza city of Rafah would provoke “anarchy” without eliminating Hamas, says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as Washington steps up a pressure campaign against such an assault.

Mr Blinken, when asked on CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday whether the US concurred with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement that Israeli forces had killed more civilians than Hamas militants since the war began, replied simply, “Yes, we do.”

Mr Blinken said a full-scale invasion could come “potentially at an incredibly high cost” and that even a massive assault on Rafah was unlikely to end the Hamas threat.

Asked if the U.S. is pausing any weapons shipments to Israel apart from 3,500 so-called ‘dumb bombs,’ @SecBlinken says “The answer to that is no,” but adds that if Israel invades Rafah, “there's certain systems that we're not going to be…supplying for that operation.” pic.twitter.com/yLQHpkG0lQ

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 12, 2024

“Israel’s on the trajectory, potentially, to inherit an insurgency with many armed Hamas left, or if it leaves, a vacuum filled by chaos, filled by anarchy and probably refilled by Hamas,” he said.

Separately, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan emphasised Washington’s concerns about an offensive in a call with his Israeli counterpart, Tzachi Hanegbi.

“Mr Sullivan reiterated President [Joe] Biden’s longstanding concerns over the potential for a major military ground operation into Rafah, where over one million people have taken shelter,” a White House readout of the phone call said.

Does the U.S. share Israel’s assessment that the IDF has killed more civilians than Hamas fighters? “Yes we do,” says @SecBlinken, adding, “It's reasonable to assess…there have been acts that have been inconsistent with Israel's obligations under international humanitarian law.” pic.twitter.com/70jIZn2oXz

— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) May 12, 2024

It said Mr Hanegbi “confirmed that Israel is taking US concerns into account’’, but did not elaborate.

Israeli bombardment in the eastern parts of Rafah have already sent 300,000 Gazans fleeing.

Israeli military vehicles roll near the border with the Gaza Strip on Sunday. Picture: AFP

The United States and other countries, as well as top UN officials, have warned that a full assault on Rafah could have a disastrous impact on the thousands of refugees driven there by fighting elsewhere in Gaza, many of them living in desperate conditions.

Israel has said it is attempting to keep civilian casualties to a minimum.

Mr Blinken also confirmed that the hold President Biden has placed on weapons to Israel – as the US continues pressing it to better protect civilians and avoid an all-out invasion of Rafah – is limited to 3500 “high-capacity” bombs.

He said the US was continuing to press Israeli leaders to provide a plan for Gaza once the war is finally over, telling NBC’s Meet the Press that “we’ve been talking to them about a much better way of getting an enduring result’’.

The US diplomat said Hamas militants had already returned to certain areas of northern Gaza that Israel had “liberated.” Israel struck Gaza on Sunday and troops battled militants in several areas of the Hamas-run territory, where the health ministry has said the death toll in the war had exceeded 35,000 people.

More than seven months into the war, UN chief Antonio Guterres urged “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and an immediate surge in humanitarian aid’’.

Palestinians transport their belongings as they flee Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip toward a safer area on Sunday. Picture: AFP

Asked about a State Department report issued on Friday that said Israel likely has violated norms of international law in its use of US weapons, Mr Blinken said there was still too little evidence to warrant ending all military support.

The chaotic and dangerous conditions of an ongoing war, he said, made it “very difficult” to determine exactly what was happening, or what weapons were used, in any specific action.

Republicans have been sharply critical even of Mr Biden’s limited halt to providing bombs.

Senator Tom Cotton, who serves on the armed services committee, told CBS that the State Department report “was very clear: there is no evidence that Israel is violating international law’’. He said Israel “is doing more than any military in history to prevent civilian casualties’’.

AFP