US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed Israel’s pauses in the Gaza offensive on Friday, as well as the creation of humanitarian corridors. However, he emphasized the need for increased efforts in protecting civilians and delivering effective humanitarian aid.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that he welcomed Israel’s agreed pauses in its Gaza offensive, but that more needed to be done.
“Far too many Palestinians have been killed. Far too many who suffered these past weeks, and we want to do everything possible to prevent harm to them and to maximize the assistance that gets to them,” Blinken said, speaking in New Delhi.
On Thursday, US President Joe Biden welcomed the pauses, which formalize an arrangement that has already seen tens of thousands of Palestinians flee devastation in northern Gaza.
“I think some progress has been made,” Blinken said. “But I was also very clear that much more needs to be done in terms of protecting civilians and getting humanitarian assistance to them.”
Blinken said that Israel’s agreed four-hour pauses, as well as two humanitarian corridors, will allow people to move away from the fighting.
“These steps will save lives and enable more assistance to get to Palestinians in need,” he added.
Blinken’s visit to India is the last stop in a marathon trip that included South Korea, a G7 foreign ministers’ meeting in Japan, which sought to find common ground on the Israel-Hamas conflict, and a tour of the Middle East.
Katrine Dige Houmøller, with AFP
