The United States on Monday warned that a ceasefire in Gaza by Israel might ultimately benefit Hamas.
According to The Guardian, this warning comes at a time when the European Union is deliberating on the possibility of advocating for a humanitarian pause in the conflict.
A ceasefire would “give Hamas the ability to rest, to refit and to get ready to continue launching terrorist attacks against Israel,” State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller, told reporters.
“You can understand perfectly clearly why that’s an intolerable situation for Israel, as it would be an intolerable situation for any country that has suffered such a brutal terrorist attack and continues to see the terrorist threat right on its border,” he said.
Miller said that the United States was separately working to ensure a flow of humanitarian relief into Gaza, with a US envoy, David Satterfield, on the ground working “intensively” on aid.
Earlier on Monday, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, expressed his anticipation that the EU’s leaders would support a proposal for a temporary cessation of hostilities to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid.
“I believe that the idea of a humanitarian pause to facilitate the arrival of humanitarian aid, which would allow displaced persons to find shelter, is something that the leaders will support,” Borrell said after talks with EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg.
