A US attempt to influence the second phase of Israel's war against Hamas to protect Palestinian civilians represents one of the most significant diplomatic moves yet in the 56-day conflict.
With a temporary truce wearing thin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken laid out American requirements in private talks in Jerusalem on Thursday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet. But more significantly, Blinken made the Biden administration approach clear in unmistakable language in public.
"I underscored the imperative of the United States that the massive loss of civilian life and displacement of the scale that we saw in Northern Gaza not be repeated in the South," Blinken said in a televised press conference in Tel Aviv. His comments came amid increasing speculation that a seven-day pause in the fighting, which has seen more than 100 hostages released by Hamas, may end within hours or a few days.
"I made clear that before Israel resumes major military operations, it must put in place humanitarian civilian protection plans that minimize further casualties of innocent Palestinians," Blinken said, specifically mentioning the need to safeguard hospitals, powers stations and facilities. He said that Netanyahu had agreed to take steps to protect civilians.
Two key questions for when fighting resumes: Will Israel's efforts be genuine and effective? And to what extent are the Israeli prime minister and his military brass are actually willing to accommodate US concerns?
The frankness shown by the top US diplomat contrasts with public comments that were more advisory in tone from the Biden administration in the initial stage of the war. Heart-rending scenes of death and mayhem in Gaza opened up the White House to intense domestic criticism from grassroots, young and progressive voters less than a year before the 2024 election. Israeli attacks in Gaza killed more than 14,800 Palestinians between October 7 and November 23, according to figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the West Bank, which draws its data from Hamas-run health authorities in the Gaza Strip.
US officials have been making clear in recent days in private and in anonymous quotes to journalists that they wanted to see Israel take more care when fighting resumes to protect Gazans, while acknowledging that Hamas embeds its forces in high population centers and in civilian infrastructure. Blinken's decision to do so publicly reflects an elevated attempt to use US influence following a period in which the administration helped orchestrate the pause to allow many of Hamas hostages to leave Gaza alive.
It also suggests that the White House is not completely buying Israel's assurances that it takes every possible step to alleviate civilian casualties in its response to the October 7 Hamas terror attack that killed 1,200 people. Blinken noted bluntly, for instance, that he told Netanyahu: "Intent matters. But so does the result."
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