Israel-Hamas war | In US balancing act, a desperate bid to prevent a regional conflict

The Americans are doing a balancing act by supporting Israel and by advocating against long-term Israeli occupation of Gaza and pressing for the humane treatment of innocent Palestinian civilians, reported Bloomberg.

The US is particularly concerned about Hezbollah entering the fray, because it could escalate the crisis. The Americans have been trying to deter the Iranians, which supports both Hamas and Hezbollah.

Israel and Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, have already been exchanging fire across the border during the past week after Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel.

Blinken said the US had made it clear that other nations in the region and militant groups other than Hamas should not interfere.

"We've backed up those words with concrete actions, including the deployment now of our two largest aircraft carrier battle groups to the region. That's not meant as a provocation, it's meant as a deterrent. No one should do anything that could add fuel to the fire in any other place," said Blinken.

Long-term occupation of Gaza would be a mistake: Biden

In an interview with CBS News's "60 Minutes” on Sunday (October 15), US President Joe Biden said Israel would abide by the rules of war. He said a long-term occupation of Gaza by Israel would be a mistake, and that it should be governed by a “Palestinian authority”. Biden, who may even visit Israel in the ultimate proof of the US's earnestness about keeping the war from spreading, also said innocent civilians should have access to medicines, food, and water.

The US president also said that his team was discussing the establishment of a safe zone for the Gaza residents, and they were asking the Egyptian government to provide safe access to women and children from the conflict zone.

Biden did not see the necessity for US troops to get involved directly. But he said, “taking out the extremists...is a necessary requirement”.

Arab nations express concern for Gaza’s civilians

"The (Israeli) reaction went beyond the right to self-defence, turning into collective punishment for 2.3 million people in Gaza," Egypt President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told Blinken in televised remarks.

The Saudi crown prince Mohammed Bin Salman in his meeting with Blinken had stressed that they should find ways to bring the conflict to an end, and ensure that international law was respected and that the Israeli blockade on Gaza should be lifted.

Saudi Arabia said it would object to the targeting of “civilians in any way or disrupt(ing) infrastructure and vital interests that affect their daily lives”. The prince “stressed the need to work to discuss ways to stop the military operations that claimed the lives of innocent people", the Saudi Press Agency said in a report about the meeting.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian warned on Sunday (October 15) that "the hands of all parties in the region are on the trigger, " according to Reuters.

Blinken stresses the need to avoid harming civilians

Mindful of the potential human cost in Gaza, Blinken said “the way that Israel does this matters. It needs to do it in a way that affirms the shared values that we have for human life and human dignity, taking every possible precaution to avoid harming civilians".

"There's a determination in every country I went to, to make sure that this conflict doesn't spread," Blinken told reporters as he prepared to leave Cairo. "They are using their own influence, their own relationships, to try to make sure that this doesn't happen."

Blinken told reporters before leaving Egypt that “Israel has the right, indeed it has the obligation to defend itself against these attacks from Hamas and to try to do what it can to make sure that this never happens again”.

With an Israeli ground offensive looming, Blinken reaffirmed in some of his strongest language to date that Washington would stand with Israel “today, tomorrow and every day” in a partnership of shared democratic values, but that Israel must take “every possible precaution to avoid harming civilian.”

He levelled no direct public criticism of Israel or its bombing campaign that has killed civilians in Gaza.

The US secretary of state said that what he heard in every meeting with Arab leaders “was a shared view to safeguard innocent lives, a shared view to get assistance to Palestinians in Gaza who need it and we're working very much on that”.

The White House has appointed David Satterfield, a former ambassador to Lebanon and Turkiye, to lead US efforts to get humanitarian assistance to “vulnerable people through the Middle East”. Satterfield was expected to arrive in Israel on Monday (October 16).

Peace deal should establish Palestinian state

US officials have said the Arab reaction to Blinken's message has been generally positive — acknowledging that Israel has a right to respond to the Hamas attacks but expressing deep concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza and unable to stay silent about the Palestinian civilian casualties that result.

The Arab leaders have also said the current situation cannot be resolved without an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal that gives the Palestinians an independent state.