(TargetDailyNews.com) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken harshly critiqued Israel’s advance into the area around Rafah in Gaza, suggesting Israeli officials did not have a plan in place to specifically minimize civilian casualties. Rafah is the southernmost city in Gaza where as many as 1.2 million Palestinian refugees have fled during previous military operations in the northern part of the territory.
Blinken told members of the press that the U.S. was urging Israel to put “a clear, credible plan” into action that would protect civilian life. He suggested that no such plan has been presented as yet. He also suggested Israel needs to chart a course for what happens after the war is over.
The commentary comes as the Biden administration halted the shipment of roughly 3500 heavy bombs. The administration defended the decision suggesting that the weapons would cause tremendous damage if used in a densely populated urban setting like Rafah. Despite the critique, President Joe Biden has insisted that U.S. support for the Zionist state was still “ironclad.”
Gaza has become rife with disease, starvation, and destroyed infrastructure in the aftermath of Israel’s siege. The October 7 attacks by Hamas kicked off the conflict, while Israel was largely criticized for ignoring the warning signs and failing to respond quickly to the incursion.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has suggested that a full siege of Rafah is the only way they can eradicate Hamas, the offending entity and ruling authority in Gaza. The fate of the remaining 130 hostages hangs in the balance, the hostages were taken during the Oct 7 raid. Many of them are believed to be dead. The release is part of a ceasefire deal, and negotiations remain ongoing in Cairo as talks are mediated by third parties.
Hamas allegedly accepted a ceasefire agreement last week, but Israeli officials condemned the deal as incomplete and a ruse to delay their operation in Rafah.
Israeli supporters lambasted Biden over his refusal to ship the bombs. Some Israeli lawmakers went as far as suggesting he was a supporter of Hamas, despite the U.S. being the single largest source of Israeli weapons and international financial support.
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