(Headline USA) The Biden administration confirmed its break from Israel over the Jewish state’s continued military campaign against Hamas, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken warning Israeli officials to “get out of Gaza” completely.
White House officials have become increasingly critical of Israel’s killing of civilians in the Gaza Strip in recent weeks as backlash from leftist activists and student protesters in the U.S. has grown. And while President Joe Biden has insisted that Israel still has the support of the U.S., recent comments and policy decisions from his administration say otherwise.
Blinken, for example, said over the weekend on Face the Nation that the U.S. wants Israeli forces to “get out of Gaza,” calling Israel’s campaign “a horrible loss of life of innocent civilians.”
Blinken on Face the Nation on Israel: "We also need to see a plan for what happens after this conflict in Gaza is over. And we still haven't seen that." pic.twitter.com/GieCvWY93d
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 12, 2024
He also confirmed that the White House decided to withhold munitions shipments from Israel over the Jewish state’s planned invasion of Rafah, where more than 1.4 million Palestinians have been living.
“We believe two things. One, you have to have a clear, credible plan to protect civilians, which we haven’t seen. Second, we also need to see a plan for what happens after this conflict in Gaza is over,” Blinken claimed. “As we look at Rafah, they may go in and have some initial success, but potentially at an incredibly high cost to civilians, but one that is not durable, one that’s not sustainable.”
Blinken also warned that Israel’s continued campaign against Hamas could result in a power “vacuum” that’s “likely to be filled by chaos.”
When asked for an explanation of the sudden about-face in regards to Israel’s military campaign, Blinken said, “We treat Israel, one of our closest allies and partners, just as we would treat any other country, including in assessing something like international humanitarian law and its compliance with that.”
