The White House said it believes Israel can dramatically reduce the threat from Hamas, but that eliminating the group and its ideology is likely impossible. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby pointed to the U.S. efforts to disrupt al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, a day after Biden said Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza would only end once the militant group was no longer a threat.
Quick Read
- The White House believes that while Israel can significantly reduce Hamas’ threat, completely eliminating the group and its ideology is likely impossible.
- National Security Council spokesman John Kirby compared the situation with U.S. efforts against al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, noting the reduced capabilities of these groups due to military actions.
- Kirby emphasized that such actions can diminish a terrorist group’s ability to operate, but may not eradicate the underlying ideology.
- All communication services in the Gaza Strip, including landline, mobile network, and internet connections, have shut down due to a fuel shortage, as reported by Palestinian telecoms provider Paltel.
The Associated Press has the story:
White House: It’s likely impossible for Israel to totally eliminate Hamas
Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP)
The White House said it believes Israel can dramatically reduce the threat from Hamas, but that eliminating the group and its ideology is likely impossible.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby pointed to the U.S. efforts to disrupt al-Qaida and the Islamic State group, a day after Biden said Israel’s war on Hamas in Gaza would only end once the militant group was no longer a threat.
“What we have learned through our own experiences, that military and other means you can absolutely have a significant impact on terrorist groups ability to resource itself, to train fighters, to recruit fighters, to plan to execute attacks,” Kirby told reporters. “And look at the shadow of itself that ISIS is right now, look at the shadow of itself al-Qaida is right now.”
“It doesn’t mean that the ideology withers away and die,” Kirby added.
ALL GAZA’S COMMUNICATIONS SERVICES ARE DOWN DUE TO LACK OF FUEL, TELECOM SAYS
DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — All communications services are down across the Gaza Strip due to lack of fuel, Palestinian telecoms provider Paltel said Thursday, cutting off the besieged territory from the outside world.
