Blinken exposes the key problem behind ceasefire demand in Gaza: 'Silence on what Hamas could do, should do, must do'

Secretary of State Antony Blinken highlighted on Wednesday the fatal flaw in the demand that Israel agree to a ceasefire with Hamas.

The demand for a ceasefire is strong, not only among American progressives but around the world. At his end-of-the-year press conference, Blinken fielded a question about the perception that America's support for Israel is "hurting America's image in the world."

At first, Blinken responded with his normal talking points: America supports Israel's right to defend itself, but it should do everything possible to protect Palestinian civilians.

But then Blinken called out the nagging problem with those ceasefire demands: why aren't those who support a ceasefire calling for Hamas to end its terrorist operations against Israel?

"One of the things that's striking to me is that, understandably, everyone would like to see this conflict end as quickly as possible," he said. "But if it ends with Hamas remaining in place and having the capacity and the stated intent to repeat Oct. 7 again and again and again, that’s not in the interests of Israel. It’s not in the interests of the region. It’s not in the interests of the world.

"And what is striking to me is that ... I hear virtually no one demanding of Hamas that it stop hiding behind civilians, that it lay down its arms, that it surrender," Blinken noted.

"This is over tomorrow if Hamas does that. This would have been over a month ago, six weeks ago, if Hamas had done that," he explained. "How can it be that there are no demands made of the aggressor and only demands made of the victim?"

Instead of an international demand for Israel to stop its operations, Blinken said there should be a global push for Hamas "to do what's necessary to end this."

"There seems to be silence on what Hamas could do, should do, must do if we want to end the suffering of innocent men, women, and children," Blinken observed.

The United Nations Security Council continues to negotiate a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. The vote on a resolution has been delayed several times this week because the U.S. refuses to support it and has already vetoed other resolutions since the war began.

Hamas, meanwhile, has rejected another deal for a temporary truce that would have required it to release the remaining hostages.

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