The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, defended this Sunday that it is up to the Israeli Government to decide the duration of the offensive against Hamas, regretting that the promise to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip is not always fulfilled.
“I am of the opinion that special attention must be paid to the protection of civilians and ensuring that humanitarian aid reaches those who need it. I believe that the intentions [de Israel] exist, but the results are not always verified,” he said in an interview with CNN.
The most recent figures published by Hamas show almost 18,000 deaths following the military offensive launched two months ago by the Israel Defense Forces in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Ministry of Health of the Gaza Strip, the provisional death toll today rose to 17,997, while the number of injured rose to 49,229. In the last 24 hours alone, 297 people were killed and 1,149 injured, and the number is expected to continue to rise as attacks continue.
Hamas authorities, as well as the United Nations and other organizations on the ground, accused Israeli forces of bombing civilian areas and facilities theoretically protected by international law, such as hospitals and schools. Since the start of the current escalation, only 618 injured or sick people have been able to leave the Gaza Strip through the Rafah crossing, according to the Ministry.
In the interview with CNN, when asked about the duration of the campaign, Blinken stated that “these types of decisions are up to Israel,” following recent news of meetings between US and Israeli officials over military timetables.
US officials told CNN this week that they expect the current phase of Israel’s ground invasion of Gaza to last several weeks before transitioning, possibly in January, to a lower-intensity, hyper-localized strategy that closely targets militants. and specific Hamas leaders.
For his part, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the operation against the enclave will last as long as necessary to eliminate the Islamist movement.
Israel launched the offensive in Gaza in response to Hamas attacks on October 7, which caused around 1,200 deaths on Israeli soil, and which triggered almost daily cross-border attacks on the border with Lebanon, where the Shiite militia Hezbollah is present.
Source: TSF
