Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to focus on ending the war on Saturday, January 6. Currently in Turkey, Blinken is conducting a Middle East diplomatic tour in a bid to calm rising tensions.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh has called on US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to use his current Middle East tour to end Israel’s “aggression” as war rages in Gaza.
The top US diplomat arrived in Turkey on Friday, marking the beginning of a trip that includes scheduled visits to Israel, the occupied West Bank, and several Gulf states.
US officials have said that Blinken, in his fourth regional tour since fighting erupted with Hamas’s October 7 attacks on Israel, would focus on getting more aid into the besieged Gaza Strip, ruled by the Palestinian militant group.
In a video message posted late Friday on Hamas’s social media channels, Haniyeh said he hoped Blinken had “learned the lessons of the last three months” during which Israel has relentlessly bombarded Gaza in an effort to destroy the Islamist group.
US support for Israel’s military campaign “has caused unprecedented massacres and war crimes against our people in Gaza,” Haniyeh said.
“We […] hope that he will be more focused this time on ending the aggression” as well as “the occupation of all Palestinian lands,” the Qatar-based Hamas chief added.
Haniyeh also called on regional leaders scheduled to meet with Blinken to emphasize that stability in the Middle East is “closely linked to our Palestinian cause.”
The United States serves as Israel’s primary military and political supporter and has consistently resisted endorsing calls for a ceasefire. Nonetheless, Washington has expressed support for humanitarian pauses and backed a UN Security Council resolution urging increased aid access to Gaza.
Malo Pinatel, with AFP
