A major Israeli offensive in Rafah would cause “chaos” and “anarchy”, without eliminating Hamas, warned the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken on Sunday, while admitting that the war had killed more civilians as members of the Palestinian movement.
The plan currently being considered by Israel in Rafah “risks causing enormous damage to the civilian population without resolving the problem,” the Secretary of State said on NBC. “There will still be thousands of armed Hamas members” even with an intervention in Rafah, he said. An Israeli intervention in Rafah would risk creating “chaos”, “anarchy”, and ultimately, a return of Hamas, he added.
“Obtain a lasting result”
“We have seen Hamas return to the areas that Israel liberated in the north, even to Khan Younes”, a ruined town near Rafah, assured the American official. The United States has publicly threatened to suspend the delivery of certain categories of weapons to Israel, including artillery shells, if Israel launches a major offensive in the crowded town of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. which President Joe Biden opposes.
“We talked to them about a much better way to achieve a lasting result,” added Antony Blinken. Asked whether the United States believed that more civilians had been killed in Gaza than Hamas members, the secretary of state replied: “Yes,” to CBS. The Hamas Ministry of Health announced on Sunday a new death toll of 35,034 in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement.
The current conflict broke out on October 7 when Hamas commandos infiltrated from Gaza carried out an unprecedented attack against Israel, killing more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli data.