Blinken: There is a “real opportunity” for Israel to integrate into the Middle East
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told Israeli leaders today (Tuesday), in his latest mission to curb the war in the Gaza Strip, that there is still an opportunity to gain the acceptance of neighboring Arab countries if they pave the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state, according to Reuters.
In a so far largely fruitless effort to quell the violence during his fourth tour in the region since October, Blinken said he would convey what happened in two-day talks with Jordan, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
His talks will include a meeting with the Israeli war cabinet, which was formed after the attacks by Hamas militants on October 7, which Israel says killed 1,200 people.
The Israeli attack led to the death of more than 23,000 Palestinians, the destruction of a large part of the Gaza Strip, and the displacement of most of the population of 2.3 million people, which exacerbated the humanitarian crisis.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Tel Aviv (Reuters)
Blinken said that he would press the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “on the urgent need to do more to protect civilians and to ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those who need it.”
US President Joe Biden said last night that Washington is quietly pressuring Israel to begin withdrawing some of its forces.
Blinken’s meetings across the region focused on trying to chart a long-term approach to the decades-long Israeli-Palestinian conflict as part of the path to ending the Gaza war.
He said after his meetings with Arab allies that the countries of the region want integration with Israel, which is a long-term Israeli goal, but on the condition that this includes a “practical path” to establishing a Palestinian state.
He told his Israeli counterpart, Israel Katz: “I know of your own efforts, over many years, to build greater communication and integration in the Middle East, and I believe that there are indeed real opportunities.”
He continued: “But we must overcome this very difficult moment and make sure that October 7 will not happen again, and work to build a different and much better future.”
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) meets with Israeli Foreign Minister Yisrael Katz (second right) in Tel Aviv on January 9, 2024, during his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East (AFP)
Fighting intensifies in southern Gaza
After weeks of American pressure to reduce its attacks, Israel said that its forces are moving from all-out war to a more targeted campaign in northern Gaza, but they continue to intensify the fighting in the south.
She added that Israeli forces killed about 40 Palestinian fighters, raided a gathering of militants, and uncovered tunnel openings during expanded operations in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip since yesterday (Monday).
The Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza said that 57 Palestinians were killed in the Israeli air strikes and that 65 wounded arrived during the past 24 hours to Al-Aqsa Hospital in the central Gaza Strip, which is 45 kilometers long.
The huge humanitarian crisis has placed intense pressure on the United States, Israel’s closest ally, to pressure it to ease the attack on Gaza.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated that “as the number of casualties rises, the ability to treat them remains at risk.”
He added that three hospitals in central Gaza and Khan Yunis, including Al-Aqsa Hospital, “are at risk of closure due to the issuance of evacuation orders in neighboring areas and the continuation of hostilities nearby.”
Biden hears chants of “cease fire now”
On the other hand, the charity Doctors Without Borders said late yesterday that a shell had penetrated the wall of one of its shelters in Khan Yunis, which houses more than 100 employees and their families, seriously wounding the daughter of one of the organization’s workers.
Protesters chanted slogans in front of Biden, saying: “Stop shooting now!” During his visit to a church in South Carolina.
The US President said that he is quietly working with the Israeli government to encourage it to reduce its attacks in Gaza “and withdraw significantly from Gaza.”
The continuing bombing by Israel and the restrictions it imposes on the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza prompted South Africa to file a lawsuit in the International Court of Justice accusing Israel of committing acts of genocide against the Palestinians. The case hearings are scheduled to begin on Thursday.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog told Blinken: “There is nothing more brutal and ridiculous” than the lawsuit filed before the International Court of Justice, and pointed out that “Hamas” has sworn to destroy Israel.
The conflict has spread to Lebanon, where Hezbollah fires rockets across the border with Israel in solidarity with Hamas. Both groups are allied with Iran, Israel’s arch enemy.
Two sources familiar with Hezbollah’s operations told Reuters that three members of the Lebanese group were killed today in a strike that targeted their car in southern Lebanon, after a senior leader of the party was killed in the region yesterday, Monday.
Hezbollah said that it launched a drone attack on an Israeli military headquarters as part of its response to the killing of Wissam al-Tawil, a senior Hezbollah leader yesterday, and the killing of Saleh al-Arouri, deputy head of the Hamas political bureau, last week in Beirut. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the attacks.
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2024-01-09 13:51:46
