US knew Israeli aggression on Gaza aimed to last decades: Former spox
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Former US officials have revealed that Washington was aware that "Israel" aimed to prolong its war on Gaza for decades, despite being present at ceasefire talks.
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US Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after their meeting in Tel Aviv, occupied Palestine, on October 12, 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)
Former senior US officials confirmed that Washington knew "Israel" intended to continue its war on Gaza for decades, even as the Biden administration pushed for ceasefire negotiations, Anadolu reported.
According to the Turkish news agency, Matthew Miller, former spokesperson for the US State Department, told Channel 13 that former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had warned "Israel’s" war cabinet early on that the absence of a post-war plan risked an endless insurgency.
To this, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly responded, “You’re right. We are going to be fighting this war for decades to come. That’s the way it’s been. That’s the way it’s going to be.”
Miller confirmed that Washington was aware "Israel" was undermining prisoner exchanges and ceasefire attempts, but US officials chose not to confront it publicly.
Channel 13 reported that Netanyahu, along with Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, blocked prisoner exchange agreements with the Palestinian Resistance on at least five occasions.
Read more: USAID memo exposes Blinken's involvement in starving Palestinians
Stalled ceasefire negotiations, captive release deals
As US envoys pushed for a six-week ceasefire in April 2024 to avert a large-scale invasion of Rafah, Netanyahu publicly declared that "Israel" would attack Rafah regardless of any deal.
By May 2024, then-US President Joe Biden revealed the terms of a prisoner exchange deal immediately after Netanyahu approved it, aiming to prevent the prime minister from reversing course.
“We spent the last few months seeing the government of Israel, at times, try and sabotage an approach to get to a ceasefire,” Miller explained.
US strategy to pressure 'Israel' quietly
Miller revealed that while US officials were often frustrated with Netanyahu’s stance, they deliberately avoided public criticism.
“There were times that we wanted to go public… but we made the decision that it wouldn’t accomplish anything,” Miller said, noting that the Palestinian Resistance would withdraw from talks if it perceived divisions between Washington and Tel Aviv.
Read more: Gaza ceasefire possible but Netanyahu blocking talks: Hamas official
Netanyahu’s refusal, added demands
In July 2024, Hamas had already accepted a US-mediated proposal, but Netanyahu stalled by introducing new conditions regarding the Philadelphi Corridor on Gaza’s border with Egypt.
US officials said Netanyahu’s insistence on maintaining troops in the corridor was the “most damaging turn,” derailing momentum for a deal that could have seen the release of captives and potentially ended the war on Gaza.
“It is consistent with the pattern we saw for many months,” Miller said. “They were always looking for ways to add conditions or make the terms more difficult.”
Missed opportunities to end the war on Gaza
Channel 13 also reported that by late 2024, Netanyahu ignored a breakthrough proposal from the Israeli security agency Shin Bet, opting instead to wait for a potential Donald Trump return to the White House.
US officials described this as another major setback in efforts to end Israeli aggression on Gaza, further prolonging the suffering of Palestinians.
