Blinken asks for humanitarian halt; Netanyahu responds that only if hostages are released

Following his meeting with Israel’s military cabinet and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared on Friday that stopping the escalation and spread of the almost month-long Israel-Hamas confrontation was of utmost importance.

Following the discussion, Blinken gave reporters an overview of the actions that need to be made to guarantee that an incident similar to the one on October 7 never occurs again and to guarantee a “better tomorrow” for both the Israeli and Palestinian people.

We have made it very evident that Israel’s approach to defeating Hamas matters. It matters because doing so is both morally and legally acceptable. It matters because, as Blinken noted, not doing so gives Hamas and other terror organisations the upper hand.

“There will be no partners for peace if they’re consumed by humanitarian catastrophe and alienated by any perceived indifference to their plight,” he stated.

Blinken stated that the United States supports Israel’s “right and obligation” to defend itself, but he also urged Israel to cease hostilities and permit additional humanitarian supplies to reach Gaza. He stated that his second top goal on this tour is to protect Palestinian citizens.

In response, Netanyahu stated, “We’re continuing with all our force, and Israel is refusing a temporary truce that doesn’t include the release of our hostages.” In its attack, the U.S.-designated terror group Hamas killed 1,400 people and abducted 230 hostages.

In retaliation for the terror act by Hamas, Israeli airstrikes have rendered hundreds of thousands of Palestinians homeless. The number of fatalities in the enclave has surpassed 9,250, according to the health ministry operated by Hamas, which was reported by the UN on Friday.

Even if 100 trucks a day are currently passing through the Rafah border crossing from Egypt, according to Blinken, this is still insufficient. He stated that increasing funding “substantially and immediately” to Gaza is necessary and that his third goal is to remove American citizens and other foreign nationals from the region. According to him, Israel made a commitment to allow for more help to enter the region.

READ ALSO: Blinken asserts that the US will always support Israel

About a speech given on Friday by Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah in Lebanon, Blinken was questioned.

In addition to denying any role in the strike on Israel on October 7, Nasrallah said that Hezbollah had already entered the conflict due to their weeks-long barrage of artillery and rocket fire with Israel.

“With regard to Lebanon, with regard to Hezbollah, with regard to Iran,” Blinken stated, “We have been very clear from the outset that we are determined that there not be a second or third front opened in this conflict.” In an interview with Israeli media, Blinken mentioned that the US had sent two aircraft carrier battle groups to the area to prevent the fighting from getting worse.

Blinken’s visit takes place in the midst of broader diplomatic efforts to end the Israeli-Hamas conflict and allow more humanitarian relief to reach Gaza, with Israeli ground forces having surrounded Gaza City.

A humanitarian crisis in Gaza is being threatened by the UN and other relief organisations unless more supplies is permitted to reach the region. Not long after the Hamas attack, Israel completely closed off Gaza. In Gaza, where there are about 2.3 million inhabitants, this combined with the constant bombardment has resulted in a lack of fuel, clean water, and food.

Ayman Safadi, the foreign minister of Jordan, and Blinken are expected to meet on Saturday in Amman. In a statement, Safadi demanded that Israel halt its attack on Gaza, claiming that by bombing civilians and enforcing a siege, Israel is committing war crimes.

In the meanwhile, a directive from U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin restricts the number of top military officers who can visit Israel and pauses military support for congressional travel there.

Speaking to VOA on condition of anonymity, a senior defence official stated that more travel in a volatile battle zone would put “unnecessary risk and undue burden on our forces.”

In additional revelations Israel started returning thousands of Palestinian labourers who had been left stranded in Israel after the Hamas onslaught to Gaza on Friday.

Meanwhile, it was anticipated that more foreign people who had been stranded in Gaza since the beginning of the conflict will cross into Egypt at the Rafah border crossing.

On Wednesday and Thursday, hundreds of foreigners as well as dozens of Palestinians with critical injuries evacuated Gaza via Rafah.

Reopening the Rafah border crossing to permit exit for holders of foreign passports was a component of an agreement between Israel, Egypt, and Hamas mediated by Qatar.

This article was contributed to by VOA U.N. Correspondent Margaret Besheer and Senior State Department Correspondent Cindy Saine. Additionally, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, and The Associated Press provided some information.