Secretary Blinken: Hello, everybody. I just met with the families of the American hostages in Gaza. I’ve had the opportunity to meet with them several times now, on every trip to the region, when they came to Washington. And as always, it’s an incredibly powerful thing. It’s hard for any of us to put ourselves in their shoes and feel what they’ve been feeling for so many long months. They were so happy about the rescue of the four hostages just a few days ago, but they feel this permanent separation from their loved ones – men and women, civilians and soldiers, living and dead – deeply, powerfully. But for me, for all the hostages – but especially for our eight American families whose loved ones are in Gaza – we are determined to bring them back home.
What President Biden has proposed is the best way to do that. And I think as I said just yesterday, you have many countries supporting the resolution, and then yesterday the UN Security Council, speaking on behalf of the entire international community, made it very clear that this is what the world has been looking for. Fourteen votes in favor, none against – that’s quite rare in the Security Council nowadays. And I think that says a lot as well.
So everybody has a vote, except for one vote, and that’s Hamas. And that’s what we’re waiting on. It’s up to Hamas to move this resolution forward or not. And it’s very clear that, as I said, what virtually the entire international community wants to see, and certainly what a lot of families want to see. And that’s what the people of Gaza very desperately need. We have the possibility of an immediate ceasefire, moving toward a permanent ceasefire, and a huge relief for people in Gaza; but also opening up possibilities for Israel to create the lasting security that this country needs and has wanted from the first day of its existence, integration in the region with its neighbors, being able to make sure that people who have been forced from their homes in the north can return home, creating a future that provides the kind of lasting security that Israel has not enjoyed. This resolution and moving forward on it is also the first step down that path and in that direction. So we want to see it succeed.
I met with Prime Minister Netanyahu last night and he reaffirmed his commitment to the proposal. I also had the opportunity to speak with Defense Minister Galant and other senior Israelis this morning. And I think there is a strong consensus behind moving the proposal forward, but at this point it’s really up to one person. We’ll see what he and she say.
Now, we also – President Biden is deeply committed to the security and defense of Israel. He’s the first American president to visit Israel in a time of war, the first American president to send American forces to defend Israel during Iran’s attack in April. And we are committed to the defeat of Hamas, to ensure that it can never rule Gaza again. We also strongly believe that military means are necessary, but they are not sufficient, and that there must be a clear political plan, a clear humanitarian plan, to ensure that Hamas cannot in any way take control of Gaza and that Israel can move toward more lasting security.
And that’s why while we’re working on the ceasefire proposal for the hostages, while we’re trying to make sure that the conflict doesn’t spread to other parts of the region, we’re also working on day-one plans for Gaza – security, governance, reconstruction. And we’re doing that in conversations, in consultation, with a number of partners across the region. These conversations will continue this afternoon and over the next few days, and it’s important that we have these plans in place, that we’re ready to move forward, and simply put, if we don’t have plans for the next day we’re not going to get to the next day. So I’m working strongly on those.
But the first step, the most important step, is to get agreement on the proposal that President Biden has put forward and then move forward.
questions?
Mr. Miller: Michael.
Question: Hello, thank you, Mr. Secretary.
Secretary Blinken: Michael.
Question: So building on what you said about your meeting with the Prime Minister, did you get clear assurances that if Hamas accepts the proposal that’s on the table, that the deal is done, that they will reciprocate or they will continue to support it, that they will – that will seal the deal?
Secretary Blinken: Yes, yes.
Question: And can you tell us, related to that, how you understand the difference between Hamas’ position that there should be Israeli assurances for a permanent ceasefire as part of the second phase of this process, I guess; and the prime minister’s statement that talk of a permanent ceasefire is completely useless? It seems to be a difference that cannot be resolved. How do you see it being resolved?
Secretary Blinken: Well, first of all, the resolution calls for an immediate ceasefire, and it commits the parties to negotiate a permanent ceasefire. And that will be a process of negotiation, but the commitment to agreeing to the resolution is to seek that permanent ceasefire, but that will have to be negotiated. As long as those negotiations are ongoing, the immediate ceasefire will be in place, which is obviously good for everybody. And then we’ll have to see, but you won’t get to phase two, the permanent ceasefire, unless you start with phase one. So that’s where it starts.
Mr. Miller: Sean.
Question: Mr. Secretary, may I follow up on the Security Council resolution? Hamas has issued a statement in support of it. Do you take that as a promising sign that they are leaning toward accepting it? What else needs to be done to convince Hamas to also accept a ceasefire?
Secretary Blinken: Well, I would say that it is a hopeful sign, just as the statement that they issued after the president made his proposal ten days ago was hopeful, but it is not decisive. The decisive thing, at least what has been decisive so far, is the message coming from Gaza and from the Hamas leadership in Gaza. That is what matters, and that is what we do not have yet. And that is why I say we are waiting to see. Everybody has said yes except Hamas. And if Hamas does not say yes, then that is clearly on them – in terms of the vote to continue the war, not to end it; on them in terms of the safety, well-being of the hundreds of thousands, millions of Palestinian women, children and men in Gaza; also on them in terms of the safety, stability, security of Israel; of the entire region, because the longer this goes on, the more likely the conflict is to spread, and we will see problems develop in other places. We are working every day to prevent that from happening. So far we have been successful in this, but still, the longer this continues, the risk increases.
So you — again, I want to come back to the Security Council resolution. I don’t think the world could be more clear about what country after country, in the region and beyond, wants, and that’s saying yes to the resolution. We’re awaiting the response from Hamas, and that will tell a lot about what they want, what they need, who they’re caring about. Are they caring about a man who can be declared safe, who’s — I don’t know — buried ten floors down somewhere in Gaza, while the people he claims to represent are suffering in the crossfire that he created? Or will he actually do what’s necessary to help move this to a better place, to end the suffering of the people, to help provide real security to Israelis and Palestinians? We’ll see.
Question: Are there other people who can persuade Hamas? Are there other people who have influence over Hamas who —
Secretary Blinken: I think there are people who have influence, but influence is one thing; actually making decisions is another thing. I don’t think anyone other than the Hamas leadership in Gaza can actually make decisions. That’s what we’re waiting for.
Mr. Miller: Thank you.
Secretary Blinken: Thank you.
secretary-antony-j-blinken-remarks-to-the-press-united-states-department-of-state
