Secretary of State Antony Blinken has disclosed that, in the aftermath of Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, he had to warn Israel that President Joe Biden would cancel his planned visit unless the Israeli government allowed humanitarian aid into Gaza.
In a comprehensive interview with The New York Times as his tenure neared its end, Blinken described the initial siege of Gaza after the massacre that left 1,200 people dead and 251 others taken hostage. He explained how, five days after the attack, he met with Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at IDF headquarters in Tel Aviv, engaging in lengthy discussions about the necessity of sending humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
“And that was an argument that took place because you had in Israel in the days after October 7 a totally traumatized society. This wasn’t just the prime minister or a given leader in Israel. This was an entire society that didn’t want any assistance getting to a single Palestinian in Gaza. I argued that for nine hours,” Blinken said.
He went on to explain that he ultimately had to threaten to block Biden’s visit unless Israel allowed aid into Gaza.
“I told the prime minister, I’m going to call the president and tell him not to come if you don’t allow this assistance to start flowing. And I called the president to make sure that he agreed with that, and he fully did. We got the agreement to begin assistance through Rafah, which we [later] expanded to Kerem Shalom and many other places,” Blinken added.
During the interview, Blinken reiterated that the US does not believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. However, he acknowledged that there were times when Israel had not “done enough” to ensure that humanitarian aid could reach Gaza.
Blinken also addressed the failed ceasefire-hostage deal in June, stating that it was not Prime Minister Netanyahu’s fault, but rather Hamas that blocked the agreement.
“What we’ve seen time and again is Hamas not concluding a deal that it should have concluded,” Blinken remarked, noting his surprise and disappointment that much of the global pressure to end the conflict had been directed at Israel rather than Hamas.
“One of the things that I found a little astounding throughout is that for all of the understandable criticism of the way Israel has conducted itself in Gaza, you hear virtually nothing from anyone since October 7 about Hamas,” Blinken said.
“Why there hasn’t been a unanimous chorus around the world for Hamas to put down its weapons, to give up the hostages, to surrender — I don’t know what the answer is to that. Israel, on various occasions [prior to the war], has offered safe passage to Hamas’s leadership and fighters out of Gaza. Where is the world? Where is the world saying, Yeah, do that! End this! Stop the suffering of people that you brought on!” he continued.
Since the war began on October 7, Blinken has visited Israel 11 times and made numerous trips to regional countries, including Qatar and Egypt, to engage in talks concerning hostages and ceasefire negotiations.
President Biden appointed Blinken as Secretary of State in 2021, and Blinken has held the position throughout Biden’s presidency.
{Matzav.com}