Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Reuters: US military carried out a new strike targeting a ship in the Caribbean Sea
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli raids targeted a cement plant, an asphalt factory, and fuel tanks in the Ansar area in South Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: A series of violent Israeli raids targeted the outskirts of the town of Ansar
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli warplanes raided the outskirts of the town of Shmestar in Bekaa, eastern Lebanon
Donald Trump will speak with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Thursday: White House
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in South Lebanon: Israeli warplanes raid the town of Bnaafoul, Saida district
YAF: Israeli enemy will pay for this crime.
Yemeni Armed Forces: Son of Major General Al-Ghamari martyred alongside him in Israeli aggression.
Yemeni Armed Forces: YAF mourns martyrdom of Chief of the General Staff Mohammad Abd al-Karim al-Ghamari.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Palestinian shot and killed by IOF east of Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip

Biden admin calls 'Israel' strategy in Gaza 'self-defeating': Politico

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Politico
  • 22 May 2024 11:26
6 Min Read

The idea of “total victory” is increasingly becoming unlikely, as asserted last week by Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell.

Listen
  • x
  • President Joe Biden speaks during a memorial service at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP)
    President Joe Biden speaks during a memorial service at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP)

Top officials in the Biden administration are calling out "Israel’s" tactics in Gaza "self-defeating" - a type of criticism that "Israel" has not seen since October 7, according to Politico.

The officials said that "Israel" has turned the world against it with its continuous bombing and blocking of humanitarian aid, which they claim has enabled the Palestinian Resistance to recruit more fighters.

An anonymous senior administration official told Politico, “We want to encourage a deeper focus on the connection between the ongoing military operations and, ultimately, the strategic endgame,” adding,  “We’re going to keep pressing on that point.”

The official noted that National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week to plan an “achievable and durable” success against Hamas.

Meanwhile, in a Tuesday interview for CNN, Netanyahu said, “We have to get rid of Hamas. Otherwise, there’s no future for Gaza.” 

A person familiar with US intelligence revealed that Biden officials are becoming increasingly concerned that Hamas has been able to recruit during wartime which has allowed them to withstand the 7 months of conflict. 

The idea of “total victory” is also increasingly becoming unlikely, as asserted last week by Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and then on Monday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. C.Q. Brown called out "Israel" for failing to protect civilians in Gaza and prevent Hamas from coming back.

Brown told reporters, “Not only do you have to actually go in and clear out whatever adversary you are up against, you have to go in, hold the territory and then you’ve got to stabilize it,” and if that doesn’t happen, it “allows your adversary then to re-populate in areas if you’re not there, and so that does make it more challenging for them as far as being able to meet their objective of being able to militarily destroy and defeat Hamas.”

Warning signs ignored

Retired Gen. Joseph Votel, former head of US Central Command against the Islamic State, asked what happens after the alleged "destruction" of Hamas. “What’s the plan to take care of the 2.5 million Palestinians that are left behind? What’s the plan to deal with the remainder of the Hamas fighters? It seems incomplete and I just don’t think that they have communicated or have thought through that as well as I would’ve hoped they would’ve.”

Dana Stroul, a former top Middle East Pentagon official who resigned in January, wrote in a Foreign Affairs essay published Monday that the US shared lessons of its failures in Iraq with "Israel", but "Israel" has not listened to those warnings.

Read next: First Jewish Biden administration employee resigns over Gaza genocide

Related News

ANZ forecasts gold to hit $4,400 by year-end, peak at $4,600 in 2026

Top US commander in Latin America steps down amid growing scrutiny

“Not only has Israel declined to learn from this body of knowledge and experience on the sequencing of activities to prevent worst outcomes for postconflict societies, but it also appears that Israel is on track to repeat the same mistakes,” she noted.

Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) said in an interview recently, “The U.S. learned over decades that unless you center humanitarian needs and the protection of civilians in conflict that your military goals will fail. We are seeing this first hand as Hamas rapidly resurfaces after IDF operations and retains capabilities despite months of fighting.”

Votel said that the Israelis “are not helping their cause here.”

Retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, who led US Central Command from 2019 to 2022, reveals that "Israel" hasn’t deployed a large enough force to clear and take hold of areas where “people are probably going to try to flow back in,” and Hamas will then move in and reestablish presence.

“That’s classic guerilla strategy,” he claimed.

Votel claims that relying on a partner force to secure areas after the military operation was complete in Iraq and Syria against ISIS was key, and “unless you do that, you are going to find yourself going back into these areas and reclearing them and re-fighting them”. 

He continued to criticize the occupation for reaching out to Arab nations to help with the “day after” scenario.

“There should’ve been more deliberation upfront about how they were going to do that part of the campaign, and now they are where they are,” he said.

The 'anti-semitic card' strikes again

This comes a day after Netanyahu described on Monday the measures of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue arrest warrants against him and Security Minister Yoav Gallant as "anti-semitic" and confirmed that they will not constrain "Israel" in its war on Gaza.

The Chief Prosecutor of the ICC Karim Khan stated that his office is filing applications for arrest warrants before Pre-Trial Chamber I of the ICC against Netanyahu and Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed on the "territory of the State of Palestine," in the Gaza Strip, from at least October 8, 2023. This was the first action of its kind taken against any major US partner.

Read next: US Democrats seeing red after Israeli letter reprimands lawmakers

Biden on Monday strongly criticized the International Criminal Court's move to seek arrest warrants for Israeli officials, including Netanyahu, labeling it "outrageous".

Biden cited an alleged absence of equivalence between "Israel" and Hamas as he affirmed unwavering support for "Israel's" security.

"And let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence - none - between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security," Biden said in a statement.

  • United States
  • Pentagon
  • Israel
  • Rafah
  • Gaza
  • Joe Biden
War on Gaza

War on Gaza

Most Read

Iran strikes secret Israeli-US bunker under Tel Aviv high-rise

Tel Aviv high-rise struck by Iran hid Site 81, secret US-Israeli base

  • Politics
  • 14 Oct 2025
Palestinian journalist Saleh al-Jaafarawi in an undated image in Gaza, occupied Palestine (Social media)

Gaza Palestinian journalist Saleh al-Jafarawi killed by collaborators

  • Politics
  • 12 Oct 2025
drop site

New report details extensive Israeli arson in Gaza after ceasefire

  • Politics
  • 13 Oct 2025
Illustration of fists breaking shackles, representing the liberation of Palestinian detainees from Israeli prisons. (Illustrated by: AL Mayadeen English/Batoul Chamas)

4 prominent Palestinian detainees to be freed: Who are they?

  • Palestine
  • 13 Oct 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
The bodies of deceased Palestinians, held by Israel during the war, lie in plastic bags on the floor of Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, following their release, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025 (AP)
Politics

'Israel' returns 30 Palestinian bodies; some bear marks of torture

Gaza buried under 70 million tons of war debris as crisis deepens
Politics

Gaza buried under 70 million tons of debris, 20,000 lingering UXOs

Ex-White House adviser Ashley Tellis charged over secret files
Politics

Ex-White House advisor accused of amassing troves of top secret files

An Israeli soldier rests by a mobile artillery unit at a gathering point on the border with the Gaza Strip, in southern “Israel”, Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025. (AP)
Politics

Global arms bans isolate 'Israel', yet its war machine keeps running

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS