Dem Rep. on Harris Labeling Operation that Led to Sinwar’s Death a ‘Mistake’: She Really Meant Evacuate Civilians First

On Tuesday’s broadcast of NewsNation’s “Dan Abrams Live,” Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) argued that 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris was really telling Israel to ensure they had evacuated the civilian population when she warned them that it “would be a huge mistake” to engage in a major military operation in Rafah and stated that “there were a lot of comments made during those months.”

After playing a video of Harris saying that “any major military operation in Rafah would be a huge mistake” and another video where Harris praised the killing of Sinwar, host Dan Abrams asked, “It sure felt like it was a major military operation in Rafah. And had Israel stayed out, it seems that Sinwar would still be alive today. So, how do you reconcile those two statements?”

Landsman answered, “Well, I think the administration was attempting to work with Israel to ensure that, when Israel went into Rafah, the civilian population had been moved out, which Israel worked for months to do. Israel has been intent on dismantling Hamas and minimizing civilian casualties. And so, there was an effort, for several months, to ensure that those civilians — that there [were] 1.1 million civilians in Southern Gaza, they obviously were moved. And, in the end, the IDF was able to finally get those remaining battalions in Rafah and, ultimately, Sinwar, because they were cautious and determined to do these two things simultaneously, one is dismantle Hamas and minimize civilian casualties.”

Abrams then asked, “But is it a good thing that Israel sort of ignored the administration on this?”

Landsman responded, “I think the IDF, the prime minister, the minister of defense, others, worked with the administration to ensure that when they went into Rafah, they did so in a way that would allow them to get the remaining battalions as quickly as possible and without civilian casualties. So, there were a lot of comments made during those months. But, in the end, the partnership between the United States and Israel is as strong as ever. And it’s really important for Iran to know this, that there is no daylight between the United States and Israel, especially when it comes to Iran and Iran’s terror armies, Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis. I believe that she will be incredibly steadfast in her determination to marginalize Iran in the region and to provide that sustainable security for Israel and get us to a place where we’re negotiating a peace again.”

Elsewhere in the interview that Abrams played a clip from, Harris stated, “There’s nowhere for those folks to go. And we’re looking at about 1.5 million people in Rafah who are there because they were told to go there, most of them. And so, we’ve been very clear that it would be a mistake to move into Rafah with any type of military operation.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett