Antony Blinken has asserted that the US wants “real and extended pauses” in fighting in Gaza but the best way to help people would be to end the war.
The U.S Secretary of State said that Israel “has accomplished the goals that it set for itself” by taking out Hamas’s leadership and ensuring the group is unable to launch another massive attack. “This should be a time to end the war,” he said.
“We also need to make sure we have a plan for what follows so that if Israel decides to end the war and we find a way to get the hostages out, we also have a clear plan so that Israel can get out of Gaza and we make sure that Hamas is not going back in.”
Antony Blinken
On Tuesday, November 12, 204, after the expiry of a 30-day US deadline for Israel to take steps to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Washington said that Israel was not blocking aid to Gaza and therefore not violating US law.
However, eight international aid groups said Israel had failed to meet the US demands to improve access for assistance. Food security experts have said it is likely that famine is imminent in parts of Gaza.
According to Blinken, Israel had taken multiple steps to address the humanitarian crisis ahead of the deadline set by outgoing President Joe Biden’s administration but that more was needed.
Addressing areas where Israel had yet to meet U.S. demands, Blinken suggested that Israel should rescind evacuation orders to allow those displaced by its operations to return home and resume commercial trucking deliveries into Gaza.
“We need to see real and extended pauses in large areas of Gaza, pauses in any fighting, any combat, so that the assistance can effectively get to people who need it.”
Antony Blinken
30-Day US Deadline For Israel Meant To Inject A Sense Of Urgency
Last month, Blinken and Pentagon Chief, Lloyd Austin sent a letter to Israel setting a November deadline to comply with US law on permitting humanitarian assistance or risk a cut to military aid.
Blinken emphasized that the intent was to “inject a sense of urgency with Israel to take necessary steps to address the dire humanitarian situation.”
He noted that Israel has since moved to implement 12 of the 15 steps the US urged action on, but “three big issues” still needed to be addressed. Enacting extended pauses in fighting was one.
He added that the other two were allowing commercial trucks into the Palestinian territory and rescinding evacuation orders so that people could return to an area after Israel completed operations there.
“Short of ending the war, which we believe now is the time to move to that, we have to see these humanitarian steps fully implemented.”
Antony Blinken
Moreover, the U.S Secretary of Stated said, “We’ve been working, as you know, on trying to get an agreement on a hostage and ceasefire deal.”
However, he added that Hamas, “tragically, has demonstrated that it’s not going to engage on that despite the renewed efforts we’ve made in recent weeks.”
US President Joe Biden’s lame-duck status limits his ability to pressure Hamas into a deal.
Biden, whose term ends in January and who will be replaced with his predecessor Donald Trump, has strongly backed Israel since Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel in October 2023.
Trump, a staunch supporter of Israel, has strongly backed Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu’s goal of destroying Hamas. Trump has promised to bring peace to the Middle East, but has not said how he would accomplish that.
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