The head of North American diplomacy, Antony Blinken, regretted this Friday the death of “too many Palestinians” in the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip and warned that “much more” must be done to protect civilians.
“Too many Palestinians were killed,” Blinken said in New Delhi, in a message addressed to Israel, according to the French agency AFP.
Since Hamas’ bloody attack on Israel on October 7, leaving 1,400 dead, Israel has launched an offensive against the Gaza Strip that, according to the Palestinian Islamist group, has already caused more than 10,800 deaths.
Israel agreed to pause for four hours a day in the northern Gaza Strip to allow civilians to escape to the south of the enclave, but rejected a US proposal for a three-day truce.
Blinken welcomed the pauses in the Israeli offensive, but considered the measure insufficient.
“I think progress has been made. (…) But I was also very clear in saying that there is still a lot of work to do in terms of protecting civilians and providing humanitarian aid,” he said.
The US Secretary of State affirmed that the daily four-hour breaks will “save lives” and provide more aid to the Gaza Strip, besieged by the Israeli army since the Hamas attack.
“At the same time, much more needs to be done to protect civilians and ensure they receive humanitarian aid,” he insisted.
Without specifying, Blinken said the United States is working on “concrete plans to do so.”
This Friday, the head of North American diplomacy ended a trip to the Middle East and Asia that included visits to Israel last Friday and to the occupied West Bank on Sunday.
Blinken also reaffirmed that the United States supports a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine as the only way to achieve a “just and lasting peace.”
In New Delhi, the heads of diplomacy and defense of India and the United States discussed security issues related to the Indo-Pacific, China and the war between Israel and Hamas, according to the US agency AP.
Source: TSF
