US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday called on Israel to avoid further civilian casualties and destruction in Gaza as the Jewish state reiterated the need to “end the war.”
America’s top diplomat met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet as part of his fourth visit to the region since the war with Hamas erupted on Oct. 7.
While speaking to Israeli leaders, Blinken “stressed the importance of preventing further civilian harm and protecting civilian infrastructure in Gaza,” which has been devastated by ongoing airstrikes, according to a circular from the US State Department about the secretary’s visit.
Blinken and Netanyahu also “discussed continued efforts to secure the release of all remaining hostages and the importance of increasing the level of humanitarian aid reaching civilians in Gaza,” the State Department said.
The two are also likely to discuss the refugee situation in Gaza, with Blinken previously expressing Israel’s interest in allowing the hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to reclaim their homes.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday. Kobi Gideon / GPO Blinken discusses the hostage situation and aid reaching Gaza. POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Blinken’s position is in stark contrast to Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who proposed that Palestinians not be allowed to return to the ruins of northern Gaza until the more than 130 hostages still held by Hamas are released.
Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, has reiterated that it will only release the remaining hostages from Gaza once Israel agrees to release every Palestinian prisoner held in Israeli prisons.
“They will absolutely not get their captives back unless all our prisoners in the occupation prisons are released,” Haniyeh said during a conference in Qatar Tuesday.
Blinken has called on Israel to limit the number of civilian casualties as Israeli forces continue their advance in southern Gaza. Reuters
Although Blinken has advocated for an end to the months-long war that has seen an unprecedented death toll in decades of violence between the Jewish state and the Palestinians, Israeli officials appear unenthusiastic about accepting any form of ceasefire.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz told Blinken Tuesday that the IDF will continue to focus on its mission to eliminate Hamas for “the safety of our people,” CNN reported.
American and Israeli officials, however, agree that it is important to keep the war limited in Gaza and avoid it spreading as tensions heat up in Lebanon between the IDF and the terrorist group Hezbollah.
Maglan and Duvdevan units of the IDF Commando Brigade operate in Khan Younis. IDF
“We have to find a way, a diplomatic way, to put a lot of pressure on Iran and Hezbollah to pull them back as far as we can,” Katz told Blinken about the fighting along the northern border. “The point is to put a lot of pressure now to prevent war tomorrow.”
Katz ultimately warned that a two-front war for the Jewish state would result in the IDF having to “destroy Lebanon,” an outcome that Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said he wanted to avoid by establishing stability talks with Israel.
Blinken’s meeting came as Hezbollah deputy head Naim Qassem said in a statement released Tuesday that the terrorist group wants to avoid war in Lebanon, “but if Israel expands, a response is inevitable to the maximum extent necessary to deter Israel.”
The unrest along the northern border comes as the IDF continues its advance in southern Gaza, with Maglan and Duvdevan units of its Commando Brigade operating in Khan Younis.
Elite IDF snipers reported killing nine Hamas militants on Tuesday. IDF
The IDF said on Tuesday it had raided several Hamas bases in the area, including underground tunnels, with Israeli forces seeking to gain “operational control” as it does in northern Gaza.
The Israeli army has since released a video of its operation in Khan Younis, showing its soldiers taking out Hamas fighters who threw explosives at Jewish soldiers.
The IDF added that its Duvdevan snipers killed nine Hamas operatives during recent clashes in the southern hub.
Tuesday’s operation came after the IDF lost nine soldiers in central and southern Gaza, one of the biggest daily casualties since the ground invasion began. IDF
Meanwhile, in the town of Bureij in central Gaza, Israel claimed to have “revealed the largest weapons production site since the beginning of the war.”
The weapons factory is said to contain components for long-range missiles capable of reaching Israel, as well as explosives and mortar rounds.
The site was found in the middle of a densely populated civilian area, with several tunnel shafts located nearby, the IDF said.
The discovery came after a day of heavy fighting in central Gaza, in which six Jewish soldiers were killed on Monday along with three others in southern Gaza, one of the deadliest days for the IDF since the ground invasion began.
The IDF has reported at least 185 soldier deaths since the ground invasion began in October.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
