Blinken delivers strongest public rebuke of Israel yet: 'Get out of Gaza'

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday delivered one of the Biden administration’s strongest public rebukes of Israel, amid its war with Hamas in Gaza.

During a pair of TV interviews, Blinken said the United States wants Israeli forces to "get out of Gaza" amid what he described as "a horrible loss of life of innocent civilians." He also said Israel’s tactics in the war have failed to neutralize Hamas and could create a power "vacuum" in the Palestinian territory.

When asked about the U.S. withholding high payload bombs to Israel, America’s ally, Blinken said: "We believe two things. One, you have to have a clear, credible plan to protect civilians, which we haven't seen. Second, we also need to see a plan for what happens after this conflict in Gaza is over. And we still haven't seen that because what are we seeing right now? We're seeing parts of Gaza that Israel has cleared of Hamas, where Hamas is coming back, including in the north, including in Khan Younis."

He added: "As we look at Rafah, they may go in and have some initial success, but potentially at an incredibly high cost to civilians, but one that is not durable, one that's not sustainable. And they will be left holding the bag on an enduring insurgency because a lot of armed Hamas will be left, no matter what they do in Rafah, or if they leave and get out of Gaza, as we believe they need to do. Then you're going to have a vacuum and a vacuum that's likely to be filled by chaos, by anarchy, and ultimately by Hamas again."

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The comments came during an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation."

Blinken also had an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," where he echoed, for the first time publicly