WASHINGTON: The Biden administration does not see it likely or possible that Israel will achieve 鈥渢otal victory鈥� in defeating Hamas in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said on Monday.
While US officials have urged Israel to help devise a clear plan for the governance post-war Gaza, Campbell鈥檚 comments are the clearest to date from a top US official effectively admitting that Israel鈥檚 current military strategy won鈥檛 bring the result that it is aiming for.
鈥淚n some respects, we are struggling over what the theory of victory is,鈥� Campbell said at a NATO Youth Summit in Miami. 鈥淪ometimes when we listen closely to Israeli leaders, they talk about mostly the idea of....a sweeping victory on the battlefield, total victory,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think we believe that that is likely or possible and that this looks a lot like situations that we found ourselves in after 9/11, where, after civilian populations had been moved and lots of violence that...the insurrections continue.鈥�
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to achieve 鈥渢otal victory鈥� against Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7 and killed 1,200 people and took 250 others hostage.
In response, Israel unleashed a relentless assault on the Gaza Strip, killing more than 35,000 people, according to the figures of the Gazan health ministry, and reducing the densely populated tiny enclave to a wasteland.
Campbell鈥檚 comments come as Washington is warning Israel not to go ahead with a major military offensive in Rafah, the southernmost city of the Gaza Strip where over a million people who have already been displaced by Israeli attacks are taking shelter.
Likening the situation in Gaza to that of a recurring insurgency that the United States faced in Afghanistan and Iraq after its invasions there following the Sept. 11 attacks, Campbell said a political solution was required.
鈥淚 think we view that there has to be more of a political solution...What鈥檚 different from the past in that sense, many countries want to move toward a political solution in which the rights of Palestinians are more respected,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 ever been more difficult than right now,鈥� he added.