U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday urged Israel to come up with a post-war plan for Gaza and warned that the absence of one could trigger lawlessness, chaos and a comeback by Hamas in the enclave.
Blinken, speaking at a press conference in Moldova, said that while Israel has had real success in destroying the capacity of Hamas to repeat an attack such as the one that occurred on October 7, the government now must ask whether further gains against Hamas would be durable without a post-war plan.
He cited the added difficulty of Hamas being closely embedded with civilians. "And I think this underscores the imperative of having a plan for the day after because in the absence of a plan for the day after there won't be a day after," Blinken said. "If not, Hamas will be left in charge, which is unacceptable. Or if not, we'll have chaos, lawlessness and a vacuum."
Blinken said he could not verify whether U.S.-supplied weapons were used by Israel in the deadly attack on senior members of Hamas on Sunday which ignited a blaze in a refugee tent camp in a western district, killing at least 45 people. Israel said it had targeted two senior Hamas operatives in a compound and had not intended to cause civilian casualties.
Also, on Wednesday, South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham was in Israel for the fifth time since the war began in October. In a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Graham said Israel was facing the most challenging time since its founding.
"There's so many challenges and problems to overcome, but one problem you never have to worry about is America," he said. Graham then repeated his criticism of the International Court of Justice in the Hague after its ruling last week, ordering Israel to limit its assault on Rafah, calling it a joke. "The head judge of the ICJ is a raging antisemite," he said.