The State Department is echoing President Joe Biden’s call for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, saying it offers a path to a better future for both Israelis and Palestinians.
“Endless conflict in Gaza in pursuit of some idea of total victory, is not going to make Israel safer,” said State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller.
“We agree with Israel that Hamas cannot run Gaza. We agree with Israel on Israel’s right and Israel’s obligation to pursue Hamas for, the terrorist attacks of October 7th. But an endless conflict, without a political plan forward, is just going to leave Israel bogged down in Gaza,” Miller said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has not backed down from his goal of destroying Hamas and told his hard-line governing partners that a cease-fire proposal pushed by U.S. President Joe Biden would meet that goal, or else Israel would return to war, according to local media.
Netanyahu has faced a backlash from ultranationalists in his coalition who have threatened to bring down his government if he agrees to a deal that would end the war in Gaza without eliminating Hamas.
Biden last week announced what he called an Israeli offer that includes an “enduring cease-fire” and Israeli withdrawal from Gaza if Hamas releases all hostages it is holding. The outline released by the Biden administration does not explicitly talk of removing Hamas from governing Gaza or eliminating it. But in a speech Friday, Biden said Israel’s 8-month-old offensive had degraded the militants to a point where they could no longer carry out an Oct. 7 attack.
Biden’s proposal offers the possibility of ending the war and returning scores of hostages held by Hamas. But it would also likely shatter Netanyahu’s governing coalition, potentially sending him into the opposition.
The full withdrawal of Israeli forces called for in the proposal could allow Hamas to claim victory and reconstitute itself. Rejection of the deal, on the other hand, could deepen Israel’s international isolation, worsen ties with the United States and expose Netanyahu to accusations of having abandoned the hostages.