At least some of the international anger on behalf of suffering Palestinian civilians should be “reserved [for] and directed [at] Hamas” in addition to Israel, according to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“It remains astounding to me that the world is almost deafeningly silent when it comes to Hamas,” Blinken told reporters at the State Department on Tuesday. “We would not be where we are had they not chosen to engage in one of the most horrific acts of brutality and terrorism on Oct. 7 and had they then, having done that, not refused these many, many months to get out of the way of civilians. … Where’s the outrage there?”
That question offered a brief rhetorical reprieve for Israeli officials after weeks of intensifying international frustration over civilian casualties and the lack of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. That anger bubbled over last week into a presidential threat that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu comply with a series of demands or risk the loss of U.S. support.
“Israel has made important commitments to significantly increase the supply of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza and has taken some initial actions as well to move on those commitments,” Blinken said. “Just yesterday, more than 400 trucks were cleared to go into Gaza, and that is the most since Oct. 7 on any given day. But what matters is results, and sustained results, and this is what we will be looking at very carefully in the days ahead.”
Netanyahu’s acquiescence to those demands has drawn mixed reviews. While Blinken credited Israel with allowing those 400 trucks to enter the strip, United Nations officials claimed that Netanyahu’s team is sending “half-full” vehicles in order to make a meaningless show of compliance.
“Trucks that go in, screened by COGAT, are typically only half full. That is a requirement that they have put in place for screening purposes,” U.N. humanitarian agency spokesman Jens Laerke said Tuesday, per the Times of Israel. “When you put up the statistical number of trucks going in and say, ‘Look at all these hundreds of trucks coming in’ and you put it against ‘Look how few trucks have actually moved around with distribution,’ it’s kind of an own goal, isn’t it.”
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That humanitarian crisis has been protracted in part by the inability to strike a ceasefire-and-hostage-release deal. President Joe Biden’s team has credited Israel with making a serious offer, but Hamas has not accepted it and still appears recalcitrant.
“The fact that it continues to not say yes is a reflection of what it really thinks about the people of Gaza, which is not much at all,” Blinken said. “It’s also extraordinary the extent to which Hamas has been almost erased from this story. … It has an opportunity now to agree to the proposal on a ceasefire and on hostages. The ball is in Hamas’ court.”