US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that he had discussed the establishment of “humanitarian pauses” in the conflict between Israel and Hamas with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but he soon after opposed an end to it. of non-receipt. “Regarding the humanitarian pauses, we consider that this is a way of facilitating the delivery of aid, of ensuring (…) that it reaches the people who need it. need,” declared the head of American diplomacy. “We consider that it is also a way to create a better environment for the release of the hostages,” he added.
Israel refuses “a temporary truce without the release of the hostages”
Antony Blinken was speaking at a press conference following talks with the Israeli prime minister and after attending a meeting of the Israeli security cabinet. But a few minutes later, Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out this possibility, refusing “a temporary truce without the release of the hostages” kidnapped on October 7 in Israel by Hamas. According to the Israeli army, at least 240 hostages are still in the hands of the Palestinian movement. They were kidnapped during the bloody Hamas attack in Israel, the deadliest since the creation of the country in 1948. More than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed in this attack, according to Israeli authorities.
In retaliation, Israel declared a war to “annihilate” Hamas, relentlessly shelling the Gaza Strip governed by the Palestinian movement. These strikes have killed more than 9,200 people, including 3,826 children, in 28 days of war, according to the Hamas government’s health ministry. Antony Blinken called for “doing more” to protect Palestinian civilians trapped in this war and for increasing the distribution of humanitarian aid.
He assured that Israel would “never be alone”, and reiterated that Israel had the “right” and “obligation” to “defend” itself to ensure that the October 7 attack could “never again to reproduce”. “At the same time, (…) the way in which Israel goes about it is important,” he added. Israel’s primary supporter, both political and military, the United States has shown unfailing support since the October 7 attack, but is taking stock of the growing international pressure on the number of Palestinian civilians killed in Israeli reprisals.
The head of American diplomacy once again pleaded for the two-state solution, Israeli and Palestinian. “The best path, perhaps even the only one, is that of two states for two peoples,” he said at the press conference. “This is the only way to ensure lasting security” for Israel and “the only way to ensure that the Palestinians realize their legitimate aspirations for a state of their own,” he said. Antony Blinken, whose second trip to the Middle East since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, was to go to Jordan late Friday afternoon after Israel.