Blinken says Israel’s ‘intent’ to protect Gaza civilians does not always ‘manifest’ itself

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that Israel’s “intent” of limiting civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip does not always “manifest” itself as the death toll continues to climb into the tens of thousands.

During an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” anchor Jake Tapper asked Blinken about remarks he made last week on Israeli forces’ intention to protect civilians in their ground invasion of Gaza. 

“Jake, we think there needs to be a premium put on protecting civilians and making sure that humanitarian assistance can get to everyone who needs it,” Blinken told Tapper. “And, as I said, I think the intent is there, but the results are not always manifesting themselves. And we see that both in terms of civilian protection and humanitarian assistance.” 

Blinken also told Tapper that while Israel has every right to go after Hamas in response to the militant group’s Oct. 7 attack, it is “imperative” for them to protect Gaza civilians during its military operation in the territory. 

“So, Israel needs to be able to deal with this to protect itself, to prevent Oct. 7 from happening again. But, as it does that, it’s imperative that civilians be protected,” Blinken added. “And, here, the critical thing is to make sure that the military operations are designed around civilian protection and to focus on that.” 

Blinken’s remarks come after the United States used its veto power within the United Nations Security Council to block a proposed resolution that called for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire. The resolution would have required Israel to halt its war with the militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Friday.

Thirteen members of the Security Council voted in favor of the resolution, as the United Kingdom declined to vote on the resolution. 

Pressure from other countries has increased on Israel over its military operations against Hamas, which have resulted in more than 17,000 Palestinians being killed in the territory, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

Blinken also expressed the importance of much-needed humanitarian aid entering the territory. 

“Similarly, we need to see the same kind of deconfliction, time, pauses, designated routes, plural, not just one, and clarity of communication, so that people know when it is safe and where it is safe to move to get out of harm’s way before they go back home,” Blinken told Tapper. 

“These are the kinds of things we’re working on every single day, again, to make sure that that gap between intent and result is as narrow as possible.”