by Humeyra Pamuk
KEREM SHALOM, Israel (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday visited an Israeli checkpoint through which aid is delivered to the Gaza Strip, where strikes were ringing out, as Israeli officials have highlighted efforts to increase humanitarian aid to the Palestinians.
Once again traveling in the Middle East, as part of efforts to seal a truce between Israel and Hamas, the head of American diplomacy was able, for the first time since the start of the war, to see up close the Gaza Strip, located several hundred meters from the Kerem Shalom border checkpoint.
It is through this passage, surrounded by thick concrete walls, that trucks transporting humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip pass. Deliveries are inspected there, a process which NGOs denounce as slow.
Bags of rice, potatoes and even toilet paper, some of which bore the logo of the UN World Food Program (WFP) or the NGO World Central Kitchen (WCK), were on pallets to be stored there. inspected before entering the Palestinian enclave.
In the area, nicknamed “inspection cell”, soldiers equipped with automatic weapons were carrying out rounds.
Israel is seeking to show that it is not blocking aid deliveries to Gaza, even more so since US President Joe Biden warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in early April that Washington’s support could change if the Jewish state does not was not taking measures to respond to the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.
This warning from the head of the White House came after the death of seven WCK workers in Israeli strikes a few days earlier.
Representatives of the United Nations and NGOs reported progress in aid deliveries to Gaza but warned that flows were still insufficient, while famine threatens the enclave’s 2.3 million inhabitants Palestinian.
“ACCELERATING” AID FLOWS
The Kerem Shalom crossing point was closed following the Hamas attack on October 7, as part of the total siege of the Gaza Strip decreed by Israel.
It was partially reopened in December, while humanitarian aid was only transported, in a restricted manner, via the town of Rafah, on the border with Egypt, the only access to the Gaza Strip not controlled by the Israeli army. .
Israeli authorities recently announced the reopening of access points in the northern Gaza Strip to allow the entry of humanitarian trucks.
Before going to Kerem Shalom, Antony Blinken spoke in Jerusalem for two and a half hours with Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he “reiterated the importance of accelerating” humanitarian deliveries, his services said.
Speaking subsequently from the port town of Ashod, the head of American diplomacy welcomed the “significant progress” on the humanitarian level made in recent weeks, citing in particular the delivery of flour to Gaza by sea.
“The progress is real but, given the immense needs in Gaza, it must be accelerated and sustained,” he told journalists, asking the Israeli government to take a set of specific measures.
Antony Blinken, whose regional tour also took him to Saudi Arabia and Jordan, also urged Hamas to accept a truce agreement with Israel likely to end the fighting and allow the release of hostages kidnapped during the attack of October 7.
“Israel has made very important compromises,” the top US diplomat said. “There is no more time to continue bargaining. (Hamas) should accept” the agreement.
NO HUMANITARIAN PLAN FOR RAFAH TRANSMITTED TO WASHINGTON
A senior Hamas representative said the Palestinian group was still studying the latest deal proposal, while accusing Antony Blinken of disrespecting both sides and describing Israel as the real obstacle to a deal.
“Blinken’s comments contradict reality,” Sami Abou Zouhri told Reuters.
Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his intention to carry out a ground assault in Rafah, considered the last relative refuge for Palestinian civilians, even if a truce agreement or for the release of hostages were to be concluded. He says he wants to eradicate the last bastion of Hamas.
Antony Blinken indicated on Wednesday that he had still not seen a plan intended to protect civilians during the Israeli offensive announced in Rafah. He reiterated that Washington could not sustain such an assault.
“We cannot support, and will not support, a major military operation in Rafah in the absence of a plan to guarantee the protection of civilians. And no, we have not seen such a plan,” he said. declared in front of journalists.
“There are other means, which we believe are better, to respond (…) to the challenge from Hamas without requiring a major military operation in Rafah,” he added, specifying that the discussions on this subject continued between American and Israeli representatives.
An Israeli government spokesperson said Israel remained committed to destroying the remaining Hamas battalions. He added during a regular press briefing that the government “shared its plans” with the US secretary of state.
The UN humanitarian affairs director, Martin Griffiths, expressed concern on Tuesday that an Israeli military offensive in Rafah was “on the immediate horizon”. Improving access to humanitarian aid in Gaza “should not be used as a preparation to justify” an assault on the city at the southern tip of the enclave, he said.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, with contributions from Dan Williams in Jerusalem, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Cairo, Simon Lewis in Washington; French version Jean Terzian)
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