Netanyahu vows that Hamas will be crushed ‘like ISIS’ as Blinken visits
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00:00 to bring in France 24's Shirley Sitbon.
00:02 Shirley, both men used the words "moral clarity."
00:06 What are your thoughts, listening to what we just heard there?
00:10 Well, what we heard and what we didn't hear, because we were really expecting to hear what
00:16 Anthony Blinken had to say, for example, about the operations in Gaza.
00:22 So let's start with what he did say.
00:23 Of course, there was a very strong emotional dimension here, saying he was not here just
00:30 as a Secretary of State of the United States, but as a Jew.
00:32 And he said everything that struck him in these attacks of Hamas against Israel.
00:38 He did.
00:39 He said the word "ISIS," just like Benjamin Netanyahu.
00:42 Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, described scenes that we saw in recent days
00:47 of the massacres committed by Hamas, by these armed men in Israel.
00:52 Well, both men said basically this is like ISIS.
00:56 Hamas is not the way it used to be, does not represent in any way the future, represents
01:02 evil.
01:03 It must be crushed.
01:04 That's Israel's duty to crush that group, to make this never happen again, to ensure
01:09 this type of thing never happens again.
01:12 This is what Anthony Blinken said.
01:14 And when Benjamin Netanyahu said the word saying, "We're happy to have U.S. support
01:19 today, tomorrow, in the future," well, Anthony Blinken said the same.
01:24 "You have our support."
01:25 He said, "You can defend yourself, Israel, but you don't have to be alone.
01:30 We're here to support you."
01:31 And regarding the Palestinians, the only thing regarding the Israeli operation, bombings,
01:37 all the deaths in the Palestinian territories, all of the worries, concerns about human lives
01:42 there, Anthony Blinken said—Netanyahu didn't talk about that, but Anthony Blinken said
01:48 every possible precaution must be taken not to save lives, not to kill civilians of all
01:55 faiths.
01:56 I'm not sure we heard the word "Palestinian" there, but basically, we imagine he talks
02:01 about the fact that the scope of the Israeli response should still take into account civilian
02:08 lives in the Palestinian territory.
02:11 He did say that Palestinians have legitimate concerns and are fighting for their liberty
02:18 and rights, but he says Hamas is the opposite of that.
02:21 It's not thinking of Palestinians' future.
02:24 It's thinking of evil, of destroying Israel and killing Jews.
02:28 When we talk about what could be happening in terms of a ground invasion and hearing
02:33 Netanyahu using this word "crushed," what are we hearing from Israeli officials about
02:38 the extent of this operation?
02:39 When they say "crushed," they mean to annihilate Hamas.
02:42 Exactly.
02:43 Now, the question is, how will this be done?
02:45 And I think in Israel itself, people are really wondering how this will be done, what will
02:49 be the scope of this operation.
02:52 Is it something just to remove Deirut, take their leaders out of there, to take them out?
02:59 Will there be a new occupation after the incursion?
03:02 It's not all that clear, and all that will be determined in days to come.
03:06 That's why this new Israeli government is there with Benny Gantz and more, you know,
03:13 former and current military officials, to find the best solution.
03:18 But of course, the U.N., various countries and many have warned against something that
03:25 will be dramatic and deadly on the Palestinian side.
03:28 And until now, the Arab states around Israel and the Palestinian territories, they've been
03:34 saying—well, they haven't been saying much.
03:37 They've been saying they don't want to have an operation that's too brutal.
03:42 But as days go along, they may be more and more critical of what is happening in the
03:47 Palestinian territories.
03:49 And as the death toll mounts.
03:51 There's certainly a human toll to take into consideration there.
03:54 In terms of hostages, Anthony Blinken did make mention of hostages and being there to
04:00 help secure the release of these hostages, some of whom are American citizens.
04:05 Yes.
04:06 He said that there are Americans.
04:08 He talked about also the deaths, 25 U.S. nationals killed.
04:15 He also said, well, that, yes, the Americans are among those taken hostage, from what I
04:22 understand.
04:23 He said 36 countries, citizens, nationals from 36 countries were either killed or taken
04:29 hostage.
04:30 And that's why so many people around the world feel involved.
04:35 And he also talked about the fact that the U.S. is bringing ammunition.
04:40 It's bringing interceptors for the Iron Dome.
04:44 It's bolstering U.S. aircraft in the region.
04:47 And this is to stop other players from getting involved.
04:51 He says for those who are thinking about joining the fighting, don't.
04:56 Of course, we're thinking about Hezbollah.
04:59 And so this is basically what we've been hearing on that front with this ammunition and the
05:06 Iron Dome, which Israel is really looking for ammunition.
05:10 And we're hearing actually in the Israeli press that they're thinking ahead.
05:14 They need many things, military equipments.
05:17 And also as rockets may be coming in, they need interceptors for their Iron Dome.
05:22 And certainly there are concerns about this escalating and turning into some kind of regional
05:25 conflict.
05:26 And Israel is set to visit some other places in the region.
05:29 That's certainly part of what the big concern is here.
05:32 Yes.
05:33 And many countries are saying that they want to play into that negotiation to help mediate
05:41 a solution.
05:42 That's important for every country, every regional player to have this important role,
05:46 not only to save lives, but also to show they can make the difference and bring solutions.
05:53 We've talked many times about Qatar, which has an influence because it also brings funding
05:58 to Hamas.
05:59 So Hamas listens to Qatar and has listened to it in the past.
06:02 It has influence.
06:03 It also has links with Israel.
06:05 There have been many meetings between Qatari officials and Israeli officials.
06:08 They're important.
06:09 The Egyptians, of course, with this border with Gaza.
06:13 And for now, they're not saying that Gazans can come into the Sinai, but they've asked
06:19 Israel to stop bombing the southern border, because we've heard that has happened in recent
06:27 days.
06:28 We'll see how this developed.
06:29 Of course, there's Turkey, which is also trying to mediate a solution for hostages while calling
06:34 on Israel to stop the bombing of the Gaza Strip.
06:37 So every country both saying we want to help mediate a solution.
06:41 Let's bring this down so it doesn't get too deadly and too tragic.
06:46 But I think the bottom line from this this news conference we just listened to is that
06:50 the U.S. support for Israel is really unequivocal.
06:52 Absolutely.
06:53 He said so so many times, saying even in the U.S. there is wide bipartisan support.
07:01 No question about it.
07:03 The U.S. is there for quite some time.
07:05 You know, right after the attack started on Saturday morning, the Israelis were saying,
07:09 OK, there's some support, but it's it's going to be quick.
07:13 A few days.
07:14 We have to act fast.
07:15 And now it seems that the U.S. is giving more time, bringing more support that was initially
07:19 thought at the beginning, maybe because of everything we've discovered since then, that
07:24 it's such a huge operation from the Hamas.
07:27 At the beginning, we talked about several dozen people, several hundred people.
07:31 And now it seems to be like thousands of people who came in from the Gaza Strip.
07:36 So this is why maybe it has amplified support for the Israelis on the U.S. side.