The Gaza Horror and US Policy

Abstract In responding to Hamas’s devastating 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, the United States has two strategic interests: a geopolitical interest in preventing the conflict from widening; and a reputational interest in forestalling an even worse humanitarian catastrophe. Although the Biden administration has not questioned whether Israel should act decisively, it has counselled caution and deliberation to buy time for hostage negotiations and to minimise civilian casualties while deploying US military assets to deter Iran and Hizbullah from directly initiating hostilities against Israel. The unprecedented horror of the attack makes the argument for Israeli restraint more difficult to make, but questions will undoubtedly arise as to how the US can move Israel away from a maximally aggressive posture to preserve its bona fides with the rest of the world, including some American voters. The US would best cast the crisis as an urgent prompt to a more agreeable future based on an affirmative, multilateral plan.