US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Sunday made strong criticism of Israel in two separate television interviews, stressing that the United States believes that Israeli forces should “get out of Gaza,” but is also waiting to see credible plans from Israel for security and governance in the region after the war.

Blinken said that Hamas has resurfaced in parts of Gaza, and that "intense action" by Israeli forces in the southern city of Rafah threatens to leave America's closest ally in the Middle East "holding the bag of sustained insurgency" by Hamas.

Blinken said in two interviews, on CBS' "Face the Nation" program and NBC's weekly "Meet the Press" program, that the United States worked with Arab countries and others for weeks to develop " "Credible plans for security, governance and reconstruction" in Gaza, but "we have not seen that coming from Israel." ... We need to see that too.”

Blinken also said that as Israel pushes deeper into Rafah in the south, where Israel says Hamas has four brigades and where more than a million civilians are gathered, the military operation may "achieve some initial success" but risks "serious damage" to residents. Without solving the problem “that we both want to solve, which is making sure that Hamas cannot rule Gaza again.”

The American secretary added that Israel's behavior in the war had put the country "on a potential path to inherit an insurgency with many Hamas militants remaining, or, if it withdraws, a chaotic vacuum that Hamas may fill again." . "We talked to them about a much better way to get a permanent result and lasting security."

Blinken also echoed for the first time publicly by a US official the findings of the Biden administration's new report to Congress released on Friday, which indicated that Israel's use of US-supplied weapons in Gaza likely violates international humanitarian law.

It is noteworthy that the report also indicated that the circumstances of the war prevented American officials from determining this with certainty in specific air strikes.

“When it comes to the use of weapons, and concerns about incidents and harm to children, women and men, it was reasonable to assess that, in some cases, Israel acted in ways inconsistent with international humanitarian law,” Blinken said, noting the “terrible loss of innocent civilian lives.” .

For his part, Biden's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, in a phone call on Sunday with his Israeli counterpart Tzachi Hanegbi, raised concerns about a ground military operation in Rafah and discussed "alternative courses of action" that would ensure the defeat of Hamas "everywhere in Gaza." According to what was stated in a statement. The White House said that Hanegbi confirmed (according to the White House statement) in a summary of the phone conversation that Israel takes American concerns into account.

The war began on October 7, 2023, after a surprise attack by Hamas on Israel, which led to the killing of 1,200 people, including 311 soldiers, according to official Israeli statements. About 250 people were taken hostage, while the fierce Israeli war led to the killing of more than 35,000 Palestinians. Most of them are women and children, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.

American and UN officials say that Israeli restrictions on food shipments since October 7 have led to complete famine in northern Gaza.

It is noteworthy that there are increasing tensions between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over how to manage the war, as well as internal tensions over American support for Israel, with ongoing protests at American universities and a large number of Democrats saying that Biden must scrutinize Israel’s use of American weapons, while he says Many Republican lawmakers say Biden needs to give Israel everything without question. This issue could play a major role in the results of the presidential elections in November, according to experts.

US President Joe Biden said last Wednesday (5/8/2024) in an interview with CNN that his administration would not provide weapons that Israel could use to launch a comprehensive attack on Rafah.