United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Oct. 31 that a ceasefire in the conflict between Israel and Hamas would “allow” the terrorist group to “remain.”
Appearing in front of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Mr. Blinken said that a ceasefire “would simply consolidate what Hamas has been able to do and allow it to remain where it is, and then potentially repeat what it did another day, and that’s not tolerable.”
Mr. Blinken acknowledged the need to get humanitarian assistance to Gaza, which Hamas controls, but not at the expense of Israel defending itself against Hamas, which has launched rocket attacks from Gaza into Israel.
On Oct. 7, Hamas invaded the Jewish state, shooting and killing hundreds of people, especially Israelis, and taking others hostage.
“No nation would tolerate it. We do believe that,” he said, referring to Hamas’ attacks. “We have to consider things like humanitarian pauses to make sure that assistance can get to those who need it, and that people can be protected and get out of harm’s way.”
Regardless, Mr. Blinken said, things must change regarding Hamas.
Post on Turkey Deleted
Shortly after the latest round of Hamas attacks began, Mr. Blinken posted, then deleted, a post on X, formerly Twitter, expressing support for a Turkey-brokered ceasefire.“Turkish Foreign Minister @HakanFidan and I spoke further on Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel. I encouraged Türkiye’s advocacy for a cease-fire and the release of all hostages held by Hamas immediately,” he posted on Oct. 9, two days after Hamas began its barrage of attacks against the Jewish state.
During the hearing, Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said that “a ceasefire would be a strategic victory for Hamas” as it “would simply allow Hamas to bide its time and prepare for future attacks and pay no price for the greatest loss of Jewish lives in a single day since the Holocaust.”
During the hearing, there were several interruptions by pro-Palestine protesters calling for a ceasefire. The demonstrators were removed from the hearing room by Capitol Police. The disruptions caused Mr. Blinken to have to pause his opening remarks.
The hearing is focused on the Biden administration’s $105 billion supplemental request for Israel, Ukraine, and other purposes.
The administration has requested $14.3 billion in additional assistance to Israel, $61.4 billion in supplemental aid to Ukraine, $850 million in funding for border security, and $2 billion for the Indo-Pacific.
For Ukraine assistance, the administration has requested $44.4 billion in overall military aid. For Israel, the White House has asked for $10.6 billion in air, missile, and other defense assistance. The administration is also seeking $9.15 billion in humanitarian assistance for Gaza, Israel, and Ukraine.
Many Republicans, including Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) want to separate Ukraine and Israel funding, while Democrats want to combine the two. However, there are Republicans, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who want to pair the two.
Ms. Collins remarked that assistance to both Jerusalem and Kyiv should be combined as doing so “makes America stronger.”
