Blinken: Major IDF Rafah operation won’t destroy Hamas

A major IDF military operation in Gaza will not destroy Hamas’s ability to operate in the enclave, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday as he doubled down on US President Joe Biden’s threat to withhold arms for such a campaign.

“Right now, the trajectory that Israel is on, even if it goes in and takes heavy action in Rafah, there will still be thousands of armed Hamas left,” he said.

US support could waver depending on Israel's next move

He spoke as the United States and Israel are in a bitter public battle about how to proceed with the Gaza war, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisting that a major Rafah operation is necessary to destroy the remaining Hamas battalions there, warning that if it has to, Israel will battle on alone to destroy Hamas.

Netanyahu stated again on Sunday, “We will defeat our enemies; we have no other choice. We will stand together. This can only be done together.” He issued his words during a ceremony in the Knesset for the Independence Day torchbearers.

On Meet the Press, Blinken questioned whether such a victory was possible given that Hamas returned to the areas where they suffered defeat at the IDF’s hands.

“We’ve seen in areas that Israel has cleared in the north, even in Khan Yunis, Hamas coming back.

“So the trajectory right now is that going into Rafah even to deal with these remaining battalions, especially in the absence of a plan for civilians, risks doing terrible harm to civilians and not solving the problem, a problem that both of us want to solve, which is making sure that Hamas cannot again govern Gaza.

“Israel is on the trajectory potentially to inherit an insurgency with many armed Hamas left or if it [Hamas] leaves [Gaza, there will be] a vacuum filled by chaos, filled by anarchy, and probably refilled by Hamas,” he said.

The Biden administration supports Israel’s goal of ensuring that Gaza is demilitarized and that Hamas can not govern there, but it believes there is a “better way of achieving that [goal] than going headlong into Rafah.”

US and Israeli officials have held discussions on these topics, but the Biden administration has not been presented with a credible plan to protect civilian lives in Rafah or for what will happen in Gaza the day after the war ends.

“We’ve been talking to them about a much better way of getting an enduring result, enduring security, both in Gaza itself and much more broadly in the region. Those conversations continue,” Blinken said.

He recalled that Biden has been clear that arms would be withheld in the event of a major Rafah military operation.“There are certain [weapons] systems that we will not provide Israel that would aid in that effort because it’s something that we do not want to be part of, given the damage that it would do to civilians,” Blinken clarified.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan issued a similar statement in an interview with ABC’s This Week on Sunday.

“Biden doesn’t want to see American weapons used in that kind of operation. That’s not to say that he is going to abandon Israel or cut them off from weapons.

“He was focused on a particular operation that he doesn’t believe will succeed in defeating Hamas and that will cause grievous harm” to civilians, he said.

Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) told This Week that Netanyahu was at a crossroads with respect to the war.

Among the possible outcomes, he said, is a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia that “will allow for a ceasefire, a hostage release and a resolution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and a regional security architecture that will deliver long-term security for Israel against Iran.”

“Just three weeks ago President Biden ably came to Israel’s defense, in partnership with the British, the French, the Saudis, and the Jordanians when Iran launched 300 missiles and drones at Israel.

“It’s clear we are willing to strongly defend Israel, but [Biden]’s urging... Netanyahu to choose the path of peace that’s right in front of him. That requires reaching a deal with regional actors,” Coon explained.