A senior Hamas official has told Newsweek that the Palestinian movement has identified shift in the United States' position toward Israel after Washington declined to back its ally's stance at the United Nations, a change the group believes is due to pressure being felt by President Joe Biden from at home and abroad.
After using its permanent member status to issue several vetoes against U.N. Security Council calls for a ceasefire since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war nearly six months ago, the U.S. abstained on Monday from the latest draft resolution demanding a cessation of hostilities throughout the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. The move drew condemnation from Israel, which canceled a high-level delegation set to visit Washington for talks this week.
Hamas, usually deeply critical of the extensive political and military support the U.S. has extended to Israel, praised the passing of the resolution. The group believes Washington may be forced to make other tough decisions as pressure builds to find a solution to the deadliest-ever flare-up in the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"Regarding the American administration, there is no doubt that there are clear changes in its policy towards Israel," Hamas senior official and spokesperson Ghazi Hamad told Newsweek, "and this is perhaps due to the stupid and foolish policy of the occupying state, which commits genocide, killing civilians, and starvation."
"America has found that Israel is putting it in an awkward position before the world, and it cannot justify its retaliatory actions against civilians," he added. "America also feels that Israel is floundering and is not achieving any of the goals it has set for itself."
Still, the senior Hamas official felt that "America committed a grave mistake when it granted Israel the ability and legitimacy to commit crimes and genocide and provided it with all forms of support, and it did not exert sufficient pressure to stop the war." Now, he asserted, "We believe that America can oblige Israel to stop the war."
Israel, for its part, has rejected the resolution as ongoing negotiations—backed by the U.S. and mediated by Egypt and Qatar—toward reaching a ceasefire deal and the release of around 134 hostages continue to falter.
"To the members of the Security Council: Today you voted in favor of demanding an immediate ceasefire 'respected by all parties,'" Israeli Permanent Representative to the U.N. Gilad Erdan wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday. "Since the vote, Hamas terrorists praised your resolution, refused the hostage deal and have not released even a single hostage, and immediately fired more rockets at Israeli civilians."
"I truly want to understand what was on your minds," he added. "Did you honestly expect radical jihadists who rape women and slaughter babies to be moved by a Security Council resolution?"
The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went as far as to say that "the United States has abandoned its policy in the UN."
Reached for comment, a spokesperson for Netanyahu's office referred Newsweek to a follow-up statement in which the office asserted that "Hamas's position clearly proves that Hamas is not interested in continued negotiations to reach a deal, and constitutes an unfortunate testament to the damage done by the Security Council's resolution."
"Once again, Hamas has rejected any American compromise offer and reiterated its outlandish demands: An immediate end to the war, a complete withdrawal of the IDF from the Gaza Strip and its remaining in power, so that it could repeat the October 7 massacre again and again, as it vowed to do," the office said. "Hamas refused any American compromise proposal and celebrated the UN Security Council resolution."
Netanyahu's office further vowed that "Israel will not surrender to Hamas's delusional demands and will continue to operate to achieve all war objectives: The release of all hostages, dismantling Hamas's military and governing capabilities and ensuring that Gaza will never pose a threat to Israel again."
In a statement issued Monday after the vote, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken defended the decision to abstain, saying the move "reaffirms the U.S. position that a ceasefire of any duration come as part of an agreement to release hostages in Gaza."
"While we do not agree with all provisions included in this text," Blinken said, "adjustments made by the resolution's sponsors over recent days are consistent with our principled position that any ceasefire text must be paired with text on the release of the hostages."
"This resolution further explicitly recognizes the painstaking, non-stop negotiations being conducted by the Governments of Egypt, Israel, Qatar, and the United States, to achieve such a release in the context of a ceasefire," he added, "which would also create space to surge more lifesaving humanitarian assistance for Palestinian civilians, and to build something more enduring."
The U.S. top diplomat noted, however, that "because the final text does not have key language we view as essential, notably a condemnation of Hamas, we could not support it."
Newsweek has reached out to the U.S. State Department for comment.
The rift appears to be the most serious one yet between the U.S. and Israel amid the war but comes amid increasingly public disagreements over the course of the conflict.
While the Biden administration has repeatedly affirmed its support for Israel's leading objectives of defeating Hamas and rescuing the remaining hostages, Blinken and other senior U.S. officials have called on Israel not to conduct a planned ground offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, citing humanitarian concerns. More than half of the densely populated Palestinian territory's 2.2 million people are believed to have taken shelter here amid the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) land incursion from the north.
After Blinken reiterated the White House's opposition on Friday during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wartime cabinet, the Israeli leader asserted that he would move forward with the operation with or without U.S. backing.
Meanwhile, the death toll continues to mount as battles rage between the IDF and a Hamas-led coalition of Palestinian factions, which appear to be coordinating more closely as they lose ground.
Israeli officials estimate that around 1,300 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the initial Hamas-led assault that sparked the war on October 7, 2023. More than 250 Israeli military personnel are reported to have been killed since the ground offensive began two weeks later.
The Palestinian death toll according to Hamas has exceeded 32,000, the majority of whom are women and children, according to the Ministry of Health in Hamas-ruled Gaza. More than 430 more Palestinians are reported to have been killed amid clashes in the West Bank, which is partially administered by the Palestinian National Authority but largely controlled by Israel.
Biden previously drew a rare positive reaction from Hamas in announcing a U.S. military operation to deliver humanitarian assistance through the establishment of a temporary pier off Gaza's Mediterranean coast. Still, as Israel calls on its ally for greater support, Hamas has demanded a complete reversal of Washington's position on the war.
The cancellation of the Israeli delegation raised questions about further shifts in U.S. policy, such as the withholding or conditioning of military aid. However, National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby declined to weigh in on Monday.
"I'm not going to get into hypotheticals and speculate about that one way or the other," he said.
Update 03/26/24, 2:35 p.m. ET: This article has been updated to include comments from a spokesperson of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.
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