There’s ‘Widespread’ Belief Among US Officials That Israel Can’t Beat Hamas

The US continues to back Israel's slaughter in Gaza even though it doesn't believe Netanyahu's goals are realistic.

by Dave DeCamp May 2, 2024

https://news.antiwar.com/2024/05/02/theres-widespread-belief-among-us-officials-that-israel-cant-beat-hamas/

There is a “widespread belief” among US officials that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of “eradicating” Hamas in Gaza is unattainable, The New York Times reported on Thursday.

Throughout the past seven months, there have been multiple signs that the US doesn’t believe Israel could achieve its goals in Gaza, yet the Biden administration has continued to support the slaughter of Palestinians in the Strip.

In March, the US intelligence agencies released their annual “threat assessment,” and it said Israel will face “lingering armed resistance” for “years to come” and that the Israeli military would struggle to destroy Hamas’s underground infrastructure.

The Washington Post also reported in March that the US didn’t think Israel had clear or attainable goals as far back as October. “We never had a clear sense that the Israelis had a definable and achievable military objective,” a source familiar with an October 27 Biden administration meeting on the situation in Gaza told the Post. “From the very beginning, there’s been a sense of us not knowing how the Israelis were going to do what they said they were going to do.”

The Times report focused on Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Israel and the difference in messaging from the administration and Netanyahu. Blinken said the US was still opposed to Israel invading Rafah without a clear plan for civilians, but Netanyahu’s message was that an invasion will happen no matter what.

Blinken also called on Hamas to accept Israel’s latest proposal for a hostage deal and temporary ceasefire, but Netanyahu signaled that he wasn’t interested. The Israeli leader vowed to invade Rafah “with or without” a deal with Hamas.

The Times report told US officials were “taken aback” by the timing of Netanyahu’s comment because they think Hamas would only accept a deal if they believed releasing hostages could lead to a permanent ceasefire, which has been the Palestinian group’s demand for months. Netanyahu also told Blinken that he wouldn’t agree to end military operations in Gaza for a hostage deal.

Despite the difference in public messaging, there’s no sign the Biden administration is putting any real pressure on Netanyahu to prevent an invasion of Rafah as US military aid continues to flow. So far, the US-backed Israeli slaughter has killed 34,596 people, including over 14,000 children, according to the latest numbers from Gaza’s Health Ministry.