U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that Israel has failed to reveal a "credible" plan to mitigate Palestinian deaths in Rafah, the Gazan city where more than a million civilians are sheltering from bombardment or running for their lives.
He also said the bombings may have little real effect on eradicating Hamas.
"Right now, the trajectory that Israel is on — even if it goes in and takes heavy action in Rafah — there will still be thousands of armed Hamas left," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
"The trajectory right now is that going into Rafah, even to deal with these remaining battalions, especially in the absence of a plan for civilians, risks doing terrible harm to civilians and not solving the problem."
WATCH: @SecBlinken says the U.S. has not seen “credible” plans from Israel on mitigating civilian deaths in Rafah — or for what happens when the war ends.
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) May 12, 2024
Blinken: “Even if [Israel] ... takes heavy action in Rafah, there will still be thousands of armed Hamas left.” pic.twitter.com/V1qRVlnYBW
Nevertheless, Blinken claimed there was no "double standard" for Israel and insisted the nation is held to same account as any other nation.
WATCH: @SecBlinken says the U.S. does not apply “double standards” to Israel when it comes to holding the country accountable for actions in Gaza.
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) May 12, 2024
“We treat Israel, one of our closest allies and partners, just as we would treat any other country.” pic.twitter.com/xl4VRMFMQw
The population of Rafah has swelled to more than a million people in recent months, with most fleeing from bombings in other parts of Gaza.
President Joe Biden, Blinken and other American officials have repeatedly warned Israel that invading Rafah would be a "mistake" that would endanger the already vulnerable civilian population.
More than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in retaliatory attacks after a Hamas assault early last October on Israel that killed 1,200 people and kidnapped hundreds of hostages.
