A wide-scale Israeli attack on Rafa it would cause “chaos” and “anarchy”, without leading to its elimination HamasUS Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said today, while admitting that Israel’s war in the Palestinian enclave has killed more civilians than members of Hamas.
The plan he is currently considering Israel with regard to Rafa, “it risks causing enormous destruction to the civilian population without solving the problem”, assessed Blinken speaking to the American television network NBC.
“There will still be thousands of armed members of Hamas” even with an intervention in Rafah, he noted.
An Israeli intervention in this southern city of the Palestinian enclave risks creating “chaos” and “anarchy” and, ultimately, the return of Hamas, he added.
“We have seen Hamas return to the areas liberated by Israel in the north, even to Khan Younis,” a ruined city near Rafah, the US diplomat said.
The US has publicly threatened to suspend the delivery of some weapons to Israel if the Jewish state launches a broad offensive in Rafah, where the UN says 1.4 million people, mostly displaced by Israeli shelling and fighting, are stuck.
US President Joe Biden has openly opposed an Israeli attack there, with Israel so far appearing to defy the US warning.
“We talked to them to find a much better way to achieve a sustainable result,” Blinken emphasized.
Asked if the US believes more civilians have been killed in Gaza than members of Hamas, the US secretary of state said, “Yes,” to CBS.
According to the latest count from Gaza authorities, at least 35,034 Palestinians have been killed and another 78,755 injured since the start of the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants launched an attack on southern Israel killing more than 1,170 people. according to Israeli official accounts.
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