Blinken: Gaza reconstruction will loosen Hamas' foothold

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that "far from empowering Hamas," aiding the reconstruction of Gaza in the wake of Israeli airstrikes "has the potential to undermine" the organization. "I say that because Hamas thrives, unfortunately, on despair, on misery, on desperation, on the lack of opportunity."

Reconstruction and relief efforts, he continued, should not only "answer the immediate needs," but also "offer a genuine prospect for opportunity, for progress, for material improvement in people's lives. And our goal is to give the Palestinian people, including those in Gaza, a renewed sense of confidence ... and if we succeed ... then Hamas' foothold in Gaza will slip."

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Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.