Media Options for December 07, 2023
Democracy NowDec 01, 2023
Blinken: 'Gap' in Israel's Intent to Protect Civilians
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Image copyright: Amir Levy/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday that there remains a gap between Tel Aviv's "intent to protect civilians" and the results on the ground in Gaza, adding that Israel is obligated "to do everything possible to put a premium on protecting civilians and maximizing humanitarian assistance."
Since the temporary truce between Israel and Hamas ended a week ago, Israel has ramped up bombings on the Gaza Strip, killing and displacing hundreds of residents. The US had called on Israel to avoid civilian casualties.
The Spin
Pro-Israel narrative
Though this has been a tragic war, Israel can't allow Hamas to survive. Hamas seized upon last week's temporary pause to mark Israeli positions and prepare itself for continued attacks on Israeli forces in Gaza. Indeed, the pace at which Israeli forces maneuvered in Gaza threw Hamas' military leadership off-kilter. Israel will have to work intelligently in its campaign in the south of the strip to fully eliminate the terrorist group so it can never launch an attack like Oct. 7 again.
Pro-Palestine narrative
Israel continues to demonstrate that its war isn't against Hamas but against the Palestinian people as a whole. Nowhere in Gaza is safe, and Israel has effectively rendered the north of the strip unlivable. Unfortunately, the temporary ceasefire only gave civilians a few days of relative rest, and now Israel has returned to killing Palestinians at an unprecedented rate. The US, Israel's biggest ally, must exert more pressure to end the war.
