Read Time: 4 minutes
As Israel escalates its offensive, US diplomats are being discouraged from publicly using three phrases that would urge calm.
A child injured as a result of Israeli attacks is brought to a hospital in Rafah, Gaza, on Oct. 13.
ABED RAHIM KHATIB/ANADOLU VIA GETTY IMAGES
As Israel escalates its attacks on Gaza, the State Department is discouraging diplomats working on Middle East issues from making public statements suggesting the US wants to see less violence, according to internal emails viewed by HuffPost.
In messages circulated on Friday, State Department staff wrote that high-level officials do not want press materials to include three specific phrases: “de-escalation/ceasefire,” “end to violence/bloodshed” and “restoring calm”.
The revelation provides a stunning signal about the Biden administration’s reluctance to push for Israeli restraint as the close U.S. partner expands the offensive it launched after Hamas ― which rules Gaza ― attacked Israeli communities on October 7.
The emails were sent hours after Israel told more than 1.1 million residents of northern Gaza that they should leave their homes and shelters ahead of an expected ground invasion of the region. On Thursday, the United Nations said Israel had given Gazans a 24-hour deadline to move to the south of the strip, and warned that it would be “impossible for such a movement to take place without devastating humanitarian consequences”.
Asked about Israel’s evacuation order on Friday, US National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby declined to reject or endorse it, calling it “a tall order”.
“We’re going to be careful not to get into armchair quarterbacking the tactics on the ground by the [Israel Defense Forces],” Kirby said. “What I can tell you is we understand what they’re trying to do. They’re trying to move civilians out of harm’s way and giving them fair warning.”
When reached for comment on the directive, a State Department official said they would not comment on internal communications.
US officials have said they expect Israel to abide by the laws of war in its operation against Hamas. But they have avoided discussion of a ceasefire, even as aid groups and some analysts have suggested that may be essential to allow civilians to flee Gaza and allow vital supplies to enter the area after Israel cut off electricity and water that the strip usually relies on. Earlier this week, Secretary of State Antony Blinken deleted and replaced a post on X, the former Twitter, in which he mentioned Turkey’s calls for a ceasefire.
Israel’s operation in Gaza has killed nearly 1,800 people so far, the Gazan Health Ministry said on Friday, including 583 children and 351 women. US officials believe there are 500 to 600 American citizens in the area. Israel has repeatedly bombed the exit point from Gaza that does not lead into its territory.
Last weekend’s Hamas-led attack, and Palestinian militants’ rocket fire since then, have killed a combined 1,300 Israelis, Israel said on Thursday.
US President Joe Biden has repeatedly pledged to support Israel as it seeks to avenge the unprecedented Hamas assault. Yet as Israel’s biggest source of diplomatic and military support, the US has significant leverage in the matter of how the country chooses to seek retribution ― and whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tries to limit the civilian toll of his response.
Biden allies may press the president and his team to issue stronger calls for Netanyahu to prioritise humanitarian concerns. On Friday, Representative Sara Jacobs ― a California Democrat who serves on the House foreign affairs and armed services committees ― urged Israel to reconsider its Gaza evacuation order.
“My family is still in Israel so I can only imagine the pain and anger the families of the hostages are feeling right now and understand the Israeli government’s urgency in holding Hamas responsible,” Jacobs said in a statement. “I also share the concerns of the UN … Due to telecommunications and electricity outages, many civilians in Gaza cannot receive the evacuation notice, let alone evacuate quickly and safely. The short timeline of the evacuation notice does not provide the civilian population of over 1 million people enough time to evacuate, nor does it provide enough time for humanitarian organizations to ensure southern Gaza can receive an additional 1 million people.”
“Preserving our moral authority and protecting innocent lives is the right thing to do, and is also important for the long-term safety and security of Israel,” Jacobs continued.
US officials often argue that private persuasion is more effective on partners like the Israelis than public pressure. They are particularly sensitive about being seen as insufficiently supportive of Israel given the country’s heavy losses and ongoing anxiety about the more than 100 Israelis kidnapped by Palestinian militants, as well as Republican efforts to depict Biden as failing a key American friend.
Blinken visited Israel on Thursday and is also visiting some of the most influential Arab states, including Egypt, Jordan and Qatar, which are historically central to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
On Friday, Blinken met with Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, which controls parts of the occupied West Bank and contributes to governance in Gaza but has longstanding differences with Hamas.
Blinken “detailed US efforts to coordinate with partners to prevent the conflict from widening”, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters.
“The Secretary extended his condolences to the families of Palestinian civilian victims of this conflict, and reiterated that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s legitimate right to dignity, freedom, justice, and self-determination,” Miller said.
A motivating discussion is definitely worth comment.
I do believe that you ought to write more about this issue, it might not be a taboo subject
but generally folks don’t discuss such subjects. To the next!
Cheers!!
Its like you read my mind! You seem to know a lot approximately this,
such as you wrote the guide in it or something. I feel that you could do with some percent to power the message home
a little bit, however instead of that, this is wonderful blog.
A fantastic read. I’ll definitely be back.
Spot on with this write-up, I seriously believe that this website needs a lot more attention. I’ll probably be returning to read through more, thanks for the advice!
This article is genuinely a fastidious one it assists new web people, who are wishing in favor of blogging.
Great post. I was checking constantly this blog and I’m impressed!
Extremely useful information specifically the last part 🙂 I care
for such info much. I was looking for this certain info for a very long time.
Thank you and good luck.
I really like and appreciate your blog.Thanks Again. Fantastic.
I love your blog.. very nice colors & theme.
Did you design this website yourself or did you hire someone to do it for you?
Plz respond as I’m looking to design my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from.
kudos
you are really a just right webmaster. The website loading pace is amazing.
It seems that you are doing any unique trick. Moreover, The contents are masterpiece.
you’ve performed a excellent activity in this matter!
Pretty! This has been a really wonderful post.
Thank you for supplying these details.
What’s up, its nice piece of writing about media print,
we all understand media is a wonderful source of information.
Great delivery. Sound arguments. Keep up the great effort.
I like the helpful info you supply to your articles. I will bookmark your blog and check again right here frequently.
I am fairly sure I will be informed many new stuff right right here!
Best of luck for the next!
Hello There. I discovered your weblog using msn. This is
a really smartly written article. I will make sure to
bookmark it and return to learn extra of your useful information. Thank you for the post.
I will definitely comeback.
Hey there, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues.
When I look at your website in Opera, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer,
it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you
a quick heads up! Other then that, very good blog!
Hey! This post could not be written any better! Reading this post
reminds me of my good old room mate! He
always kept talking about this. I will forward this article
to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Thank you for sharing!
Greetings! Very helpful advice within this post! It’s the little changes that will make
the greatest changes. Many thanks for sharing!
Sağlıklı ve dengeli bir yaşam için ilk adımı atın, uzman diyetisyenlerimizle hemen randevu alın.
Çevrenizdeki kişilerin Elvankent Diyetisyen hakkında yaptıkları yorumlar oldukça değerlidir.
Normally I don’t read article on blogs, however I wish to say that
this write-up very forced me to try and do it! Your writing taste has been amazed me.
Thank you, very great article.
Hi there to every one, the contents present at this website are actually remarkable for people knowledge, well, keep up the nice work fellows.
It is not my first time to pay a visit this web site,
i am visiting this site dailly and obtain nice facts from here everyday.
Great beat ! I wish to apprentice while you amend your web site, how can i subscribe for a blog web site?
The account helped me a acceptable deal. I had been a little bit
acquainted of this your broadcast provided
bright clear concept
I have been browsing online more than 3 hours today, yet I
never found any interesting article like yours. It is pretty worth enough
for me. In my view, if all web owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the internet will be a lot more
useful than ever before.
Genuinely when someone doesn’t be aware of afterward
its up to other people that they will assist, so here it occurs.
Excellent site you have here but I was wanting to know if
you knew of any discussion boards that cover the same topics discussed here?
I’d really like to be a part of community where I can get
comments from other experienced people that share the same interest.
If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Appreciate it!
Very good info. Lucky me I ran across your blog by accident (stumbleupon).
I have bookmarked it for later!
continuously i used to read smaller content which as well clear their motive,
and that is also happening with this paragraph which I am reading at this time.
Good day! Do you know if they make any plugins to protect against hackers?
I’m kinda paranoid about losing everything I’ve worked hard
on. Any suggestions?
Greetings from Los angeles! I’m bored to tears at work so I decided
to check out your site on my iphone during lunch break.
I love the info you provide here and can’t wait to take a look
when I get home. I’m shocked at how fast your blog loaded on my mobile ..
I’m not even using WIFI, just 3G .. Anyhow, excellent site!
I am actually delighted to glance at this web site posts which carries plenty of valuable information, thanks for providing these
kinds of statistics.
No matter if some one searches for his vital thing,
thus he/she needs to be available that in detail, thus that thing is maintained over here.
Excellent pieces. Keep writing such kind of information on your site.
Im really impressed by your site.
Hi there, You’ve done an excellent job. I will definitely digg it and for my part suggest to
my friends. I’m sure they’ll be benefited from this website.
You could certainly see your enthusiasm within the article you write.
The sector hopes for more passionate writers like you who
aren’t afraid to say how they believe. At all times follow your
heart.
Hello There. I found your blog using msn. This is a very well written article.
I will make sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your useful information. Thanks for the post.
I’ll certainly return.
Pretty section of content. I just stumbled upon your
website and in accession capital to claim that I get actually
loved account your weblog posts. Anyway I’ll be
subscribing on your feeds and even I fulfillment you access persistently rapidly.
I loved as much as you’ll receive carried out right here.
The sketch is attractive, your authored subject matter
stylish. nonetheless, you command get bought an nervousness over
that you wish be delivering the following. unwell unquestionably come further formerly again since exactly the same nearly very often inside
case you shield this hike.
Attractive section of content. I simply stumbled upon your website and in accession capital to say that I get actually loved account your
weblog posts. Anyway I’ll be subscribing on your feeds or even I fulfillment you access consistently fast.
When I initially commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get
several e-mails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove people from that
service? Many thanks!
I have been browsing online more than 3 hours today, yet I
never found any interesting article like yours. It’s pretty worth enough for me.
In my view, if all web owners and bloggers made good content as you did, the web will be a lot more
useful than ever before.
This is the right web site for anybody who really wants to find out about this topic.
You understand a whole lot its almost hard to argue with you (not
that I personally would want to…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a topic
that has been discussed for a long time. Excellent stuff, just excellent!
Hello! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new apple iphone!
Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all
your posts! Carry on the great work!
Amazing blog! Do you have any hints for aspiring writers?
I’m hoping to start my own blog soon but I’m a little lost on everything.
Would you recommend starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option? There are
so many choices out there that I’m completely overwhelmed ..
Any tips? Thanks!
We absolutely love your blog and find a lot of your post’s to be exactly I’m looking for.
Does one offer guest writers to write content for yourself?
I wouldn’t mind producing a post or elaborating on a lot of the
subjects you write with regards to here. Again, awesome
web site!
I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills as well
as with the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme
or did you modify it yourself? Either way keep up the excellent quality writing, it’s
rare to see a great blog like this one these days.
Wow that was odd. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I clicked
submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyways, just wanted to say excellent blog!
Ahaa, its nice conversation concerning this piece of writing here at this blog, I have read all that,
so now me also commenting at this place.
Way cool! Some extremely valid points! I appreciate you writing this
write-up and the rest of the site is also really good.
No matter if some one searches for his required thing, so he/she needs to be available
that in detail, thus that thing is maintained over here.
Paragraph writing is also a excitement, if you know then you can write if not it
is complicated to write.
Simply desire to say your article is as surprising. The clearness in your post is simply great and i can assume you are an expert on this
subject. Well with your permission allow me to grab your feed to keep updated with forthcoming post.
Thanks a million and please continue the gratifying work.
I every time used to study article in news papers but now as I am a user of web therefore from now
I am using net for articles, thanks to web.
When someone writes an post he/she retains the image
of a user in his/her mind that how a user can understand it.
So that’s why this paragraph is perfect. Thanks!
Generally I don’t read post on blogs, however I wish to say that this write-up very pressured me to try and do so!
Your writing taste has been amazed me. Thanks, very great article.
I am sure this paragraph has touched all the internet people, its really
really pleasant article on building up new webpage.
If you want to obtain a great deal from this article then you have to apply these methods to
your won web site.
I was suggested this website by way of my cousin.
I’m now not positive whether this publish is written by him as no one else know such detailed approximately
my trouble. You’re amazing! Thanks!
Hello, i read your blog occasionally and i own a similar one and
i was just curious if you get a lot of spam feedback?
If so how do you protect against it, any plugin or anything
you can advise? I get so much lately it’s driving me crazy so any assistance is very much appreciated.