War is back against Hamas, but will the Biden Administration let Israel win? Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivered the bad news to Jerusalem before the truce ended: He wants Israel on a short leash.
Hamas fired rockets at Israel Friday morning, in violation of the pause, and failed to produce the remaining female hostages to trade for more time and terrorists. It also claimed that its last child hostages, 10-month-old Kfir Bibas and his four-year-old brother, Ariel, are dead.
Mr. Blinken understands that Israel has more to do to defeat Hamas. “Hamas cannot remain in control of Gaza,” he reiterated at a press conference in Israel Thursday. Israel’s campaign has so far secured much of Gaza’s northern half, smashing several Hamas brigades and destroying its tunnels and hospital headquarters. The pressure this put on Hamas yielded a deal that freed 105 hostages. More pressure on Hamas now could spring some of the 137 hostages who remain in captivity.
Letting a pause turn into a more lasting cease-fire would repeat the mistake of past bouts with Hamas: leaving it in control of territory. Hamas still rules south Gaza, a base from which it would plot the next massacre, as its leaders have repeatedly pledged to do. That’s why Israel will take the fight south.
But how should this next phase of the war be waged? Here, Mr. Blinken is adamant: It must be nothing like the operation in north Gaza. The Secretary of State said he “underscored” to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “the imperative to the United States that the massive loss of civilian life and displacement of the scale we saw in northern Gaza not be repeated in the south.” He said Israel must take “more effective steps to protect the lives of civilians.”
The best way to save civilians is to get them far from urban combat zones, away from Hamas strongholds like the city of Khan Younis. But Mr. Blinken demands “avoiding further significant displacement of civilians inside of Gaza.” Instead, he called on Israel to create “safe zones” for civilians near the fighting.
But what should Israel do when Hamas positions itself in those zones? That’s how it used hospitals and schools in the north. Could Israel attack Hamas in those sanctuaries?
Mr. Blinken tried to close that door, too. Protecting civilians “means avoiding damage to life-critical infrastructure like hospitals,” he said. “Intent matters, but so does the result.”
If Israel must do more to protect civilians but can’t evacuate them and can’t hit Hamas when it hides in key civilian infrastructure and safe zones, how is it to fight at all? It could try a methodical, grinding campaign to force Hamas into the open. But Mr. Blinken demands Israel keep fuel flowing—precisely what Hamas needs to hunker down in its tunnels. That leaves relying on the infantry, at great cost in Israeli lives.
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