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Gaza could get even worse. Biden can help prevent that. - Editorial Board WP
It’s never wise to be too optimistic about the Middle East. Still, there’s a reason for hope in the fact that U.S., Israeli, Egyptian and Qatari negotiators are reportedly edging closer to an agreement for the release of at least some of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas, in return for a weeks-long pause in the fighting and stepped-up delivery of desperately needed aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
The Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for some time been threatening to invade Hamas’s last stronghold in Rafah, the area near the Egyptian border where more than 1 million Gazans have sought refuge, but has announced it won’t follow through on the threat at least until March 10, when the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, to give hostage negotiations time to succeed. Given the potential for more civilian suffering if and when Israel launches such an operation, this delay, too, counts as relative good news.
For now, Mr. Netanyahu’s talk of a Rafah operation could be aimed at pressuring Hamas officials to make a deal. But it also clearly represents his intention, reflecting Israel’s determination to inflict a blow on Hamas so crippling that the organization could never repeat the heinous Oct. 7 attacks against civilians in Israel. Still, it is far from clear how the Israel Defense Forces could successfully distinguish civilians from Hamas fighters, evacuate refugees back to Gaza’s shattered north, or calibrate a Rafah military operation to damage Hamas without another humanitarian disaster. Thus, it is necessary and appropriate that the Biden administration is urging caution and insisting that Israel present a credible plan for limiting harm to civilians.
Of course, neither a Rafah offensive nor hostage bargaining with Hamas should be necessary. Hamas should release the hostages it took, in clear violation of the laws of war, and seek a resolution to the Gaza conflict aimed at sparing Palestinians more tragedy, which would require releasing its claims on Gaza’s people. But beginning with Oct. 7, Hamas’s leaders have put their own political and ideological prerogatives before Gazans’ lives. Nevertheless, President Biden is right to insist that Israel act with restraint and in accordance with international law, and to use the United States’ leverage as Israel’s chief military supporter to make sure that happens.
The Israeli government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for some time been threatening to invade Hamas’s last stronghold in Rafah, the area near the Egyptian border where more than 1 million Gazans have sought refuge, but has announced it won’t follow through on the threat at least until March 10, when the Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins, to give hostage negotiations time to succeed. Given the potential for more civilian suffering if and when Israel launches such an operation, this delay, too, counts as relative good news.
For now, Mr. Netanyahu’s talk of a Rafah operation could be aimed at pressuring Hamas officials to make a deal. But it also clearly represents his intention, reflecting Israel’s determination to inflict a blow on Hamas so crippling that the organization could never repeat the heinous Oct. 7 attacks against civilians in Israel. Still, it is far from clear how the Israel Defense Forces could successfully distinguish civilians from Hamas fighters, evacuate refugees back to Gaza’s shattered north, or calibrate a Rafah military operation to damage Hamas without another humanitarian disaster. Thus, it is necessary and appropriate that the Biden administration is urging caution and insisting that Israel present a credible plan for limiting harm to civilians.
Of course, neither a Rafah offensive nor hostage bargaining with Hamas should be necessary. Hamas should release the hostages it took, in clear violation of the laws of war, and seek a resolution to the Gaza conflict aimed at sparing Palestinians more tragedy, which would require releasing its claims on Gaza’s people. But beginning with Oct. 7, Hamas’s leaders have put their own political and ideological prerogatives before Gazans’ lives. Nevertheless, President Biden is right to insist that Israel act with restraint and in accordance with international law, and to use the United States’ leverage as Israel’s chief military supporter to make sure that happens.
Gift Link Washington Post
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