Without post-conflict plan for Gaza, Hamas will grow back: Blinken
Hamas has recruited almost as many new fighters as it has lost in its 16-month full-scale war with Israel, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
Washington’s top diplomat made the assertion during a speech on Tuesday in which he reiterated the Biden administration’s stance that Hamas cannot be defeated by “a military campaign alone”.
The comments come amid hope that a ceasefire deal is close. However, plans for the post-conflict period remain vague amid complex and competing ambitions.
“Without a clear alternative, a post-conflict plan and a credible political horizon for the Palestinians, Hamas, or something just as abhorrent and dangerous, will grow back,” Blinken told the Atlantic Council think tank.
Former UN aid chief says humanitarian deliveries weak point in proposed Gaza ceasefire
Former UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths has expressed concern that the “very ambitious levels” of humanitarian aid delivery to Gaza set in the ceasefire currently being discussed may not be sustainable and could undermine its stability.
In the first phase of a ceasefire, it has been suggested that aid entry to Gaza could be ramped up to about 600 trucks of food, medicine, fuel and other supplies each day to alleviate its humanitarian crisis.
Similar to the ceasefire brokered in November 2023, the current proposal has set levels of humanitarian aid delivery that “would be very difficult to reach”, Griffiths told Al Jazeera in a televised interview in Doha.
“The worry is that people are being promised something they won’t get and that this will lead to a dive in morale,” the UN official said. Additionally, setting the delivery of aid as a condition means that if these levels are not respected, the whole agreement might collapse.
“We already know that [these levels are] impossible to reach, so this is a major threat to the deal.”
US Palestinian advocacy group calls for accountability after ceasefire
US Campaign for Palestinian Rights Action (USCPR Action) says the “era of Israel’s impunity must now come to a swift end” after a ceasefire is reached in Gaza.
“Every perpetrator must be held accountable at the Hague, including the Biden administration officials who funded and enabled acts of genocide,” Ahmad Abuznaid, the group’s executive director, said in a statement.
“Every displaced Palestinian must be ensured the right to return to their home and land. Rebuilding and humanitarian aid must proceed with the greatest urgency amid genocidal conditions. That will require ending Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza and military occupation of Palestine.”
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