Blinken Says Israel Hasn’t Provided Plans on Protecting Civilians and Post-War Governing in Gaza.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday the U.S. has not received any plans from Israel about how the country would safeguard civilians or the future of Gaza after the war.

On “Face the Nation,” CBS’s Margaret Brennan questioned Blinken over the United States withholding high-payload bombs from Israel, as well as current worries about the Israeli force entering Rafah, where it was reported that over a million civilians were seeking safety. Regarding the possibility that the United States will continue to supply the bombs, Blinken stated that the United States and Israel are having a “active conversation” about it and that the administration has “real concerns about the way they’re used.

We have two beliefs. First, as of yet, we haven’t seen a clear, convincing plan to safeguard people. He informed her, “Secondly, we also need to see a strategy for what occurs when this open combat in Gaza is ended.

And based on what we can currently observe, we still haven’t seen that. We’re witnessing areas of Gaza where Israel has… eradicated of Hamas, and where Hamas is resurfacing, particularly in Khan Younis and the north,” the speaker stated. As we look at Rafah, they may enter and have some immediate success, but perhaps at a very high cost to civilians; moreover, it might not be a long-term or permanent solution.

“Serious concerns” were expressed about Israel’s behavior in Gaza by a recent State Department evaluation that was released last week regarding its conduct throughout the conflict.

The Biden administration has consistently cautioned against an invasion of Rafah, and last Monday, Biden declared he would cease supplying Israel with offensive weaponry if it invades the territory. Blinken stated on Sunday that the United States has been formulating a strategy for Gaza following the assault.

We have thus been working on creating solid plans for governance, security, and reconstruction for a very long time. We have been working on that strategy with Arab countries and others; we haven’t seen it emerge from Israel. We too must see that,” he remarked.

Our goal is the same as Israel’s. Ensuring that Hamas is unable to rule Gaza once more is our goal. Making ensuring it’s demilitarized is our goal. We wish to see to it that Israel receives its leaders,” he continued.

Antony Blinken arrives in Israel amid fresh US push to stop war spreading.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Israel for what might be tense talks with Israeli officials and leaders who have consistently shown resistance to Washington’s demands on their handling of the fight against Hamas.

In an attempt to come to an agreement on Gaza’s future, Blinken left the Saudi oasis town of AlUla late on Monday night after meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince, on a trip of the Middle East.

He claimed that when Israel’s conflict with Hamas concluded, Turkey and other Arab governments had decided to start organizing Gaza’s governance and rehabilitation.

“Agreed to work together and to coordinate our efforts to help Gaza stabilise and recover, to chart a political path forward for the Palestinians, and to work toward long-term peace, security, and stability in the region as a whole,” stated the secretary of state on behalf of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey.

He continued by saying that normalizing ties with Israel was still something the Saudis and other Arab leaders were interested in pursuing, but only if an Israeli-Palestinian political deal was in place.

The area is obviously interested in pursuing that, but doing so would necessitate the conclusion of the violence in Gaza as well as the existence of a workable plan for the creation of a Palestinian state, according to Blinken. “However, there is genuine interest that has the potential to be transformative.”

During his fourth trip to the Middle East in three months, Blinken will attempt to persuade Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold meaningful talks on Gaza’s postwar governance, step up efforts to safeguard the region’s civilian population, and let more humanitarian supplies to enter the area.

The US has provided steadfast support to Israel since the start of its war with Hamas, but Netanyahu has enraged Washington by refusing to provide any concrete public plans for the governance of Gaza after Israel’s military offensive ends and by rejecting the US’s preferred option, the establishment of a unified Palestinian state consisting of the West Bank and Gaza. “I will press on the absolute imperative to do more to protect civilians and to make sure that humanitarian assistance is getting into the hands of those who need it,” Blinken stated. He also added that the administration was focused on freeing the last of the American, Israeli, and other hostages in Gaza.

US officials said that although the Biden administration had created comprehensive plans for the possible establishment of such a state, Netanyahu’s government remained adamantly against the idea and was not holding substantive talks with US officials regarding Washington’s proposals. Israel began its offensive after Hamas sent thousands of militants into the southern region of the country, where they killed roughly 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and kidnapped about 240 more.

The latest in a string of increasingly violent attacks along the border that has stoked fears of a second Middle East war even as the fighting in Gaza continues to take a growing toll on civilian lives, an Israeli airstrike in southern Lebanon on Monday killed an elite Hezbollah commander, adding to the already high tensions in the area.

Additionally, the Israeli army said that it had killed a Hamas leader in Syria, characterizing the individual as a “central figure” in the organization’s launch of rocket assaults on Israel.

Hassan Akasha was “eliminated,” according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), near Beit Jinn, a Syrian-controlled region next to Israel’s seized Golan Heights.

In the past 24 hours, 249 deaths have been reported in the Hamas-run Gaza, according to the health ministry. Dozens of these dead have arrived at al-Aqsa hospital in central Gaza, along with 99 injured. Since the start of the conflict, more than 23,000 people mostly women and children have perished in the region, according to local authorities.

Speaking in Rwanda on Monday, King Abdullah of Jordan said that Israel’s “brutal” attack in Gaza had left over 30,000 people mostly women and children dead or missing. He claimed that the fighting had also resulted in the creation of an entire generation of orphans.

“This last year, more children have perished in Gaza than in any other battle worldwide. Many of the survivors lost one or both parents, leaving them as orphans for a whole generation. How can bombardment and indiscriminate attack lead to peace? He questioned, “How can they provide security when they are constructing on hatred?

According to analysts, regional authorities are necessary for Gaza’s government in any postwar situation.

The most dangerous and undesirable outcome for the Israelis and their security, the Palestinians, and the region, according to Sanam Vakil, director of Chatham House’s Middle East and North Africa program in London, is a protracted simmering conflict that calls for immediate planning.

An enduring plan is vital for the region. Right now, everyone is playing the game of hot potato by stating what they won’t do. There needs to be fairly quick planning since this is a really important period, according to Vakil.

According to US/Middle East Project president and expert Daniel Levy, US attempts to sway Netanyahu have so far mostly failed. According to Levy, Netanyahu believed he had the Americans where he wanted them from the beginning and hasn’t looked back since. The Americans, on the other hand, haven’t given him any cause to turn back either.

It does not imply that there hasn’t been any little turbulence. However, the Americans have shown no willingness to change the dial in the slightest.

Prior to Blinken’s arrival, Israeli authorities have made a number of concessions, such as switching to military tactics that include fewer ground troops or airstrikes, and have put out some policy recommendations regarding Gaza, in an attempt to defuse growing dissatisfaction in Washington.

Plans presented by Israeli officials diverge significantly from US demands for the takeover of Gaza and the beginning of talks to establish a Palestinian state alongside Israel by a revitalized Palestinian Authority situated in the occupied West Bank.

Blinken has made an effort to convince Arab officials that the US does not support the expulsion of Palestinians from Gaza and instead wants Israel’s neighbors with a majority of Muslims to be included in the future government of the area.

The US is requesting that the governments in the area ease tensions because of concerns that the protracted, deadly war might destabilize the unstable region. Houthi strikes from Yemen on Red Sea commercial channels and a spike in violence in the occupied West Bank, Syria, and Iraq have been observed in recent weeks.