US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Israel on Friday to minimize civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip, where its army began ground operations in anticipation of a likely offensive in response to a bloody attack by the Palestinian movement Hamas.
• Also read: Saudi Arabia “categorically” rejects an evacuation from Gaza
• Also read: Baghdad, Tehran, Beirut: demonstrations in support of the Palestinians
• Also read: Gaza: “Even wars have rules,” emphasizes UN chief
After a solidarity visit to Israel on Thursday, Mr. Blinken began a tour of six Arab countries on Friday, beginning by emphasizing the need to protect Palestinian civilians while reaffirming Israel’s right to self-defense.
“We have called on the Israelis to take all possible precautions not to harm civilians,” he said in Doha after talks with Qatari officials, where, like many Arab countries, a show of support for the Palestinians was taking place.
“We are aware that many Palestinian families in Gaza are suffering through no fault of their own and that Palestinian civilians have lost their lives,” he added. However, he stressed that Israel had the right to defend itself after Hamas’ “unacceptable” attacks.
Mr. Blinken praised Qatar, which has long-standing ties with Hamas, for its willingness to help free some of the hostages Hamas took during its attack.
But he also criticized Doha for hosting the head of Hamas’ political office, Ismaïl Haniyeh, as well as an office of the Islamist movement.
“It is no longer possible to continue business as usual with Hamas, which has murdered babies, burned families and taken children hostage,” Blinken said.
In response, the Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdelrahmane Al-Thani, said that Hamas only had an information office in Doha.
Israel said its forces had conducted ground operations in Gaza over the past 24 hours to search for “terrorists” and “weapons” and to try to “find missing people.”
Before arriving in Doha, Mr. Blinken met in Amman with King Abdullah II of Jordan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He arrived in Bahrain late Friday, from where he is expected to travel to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.
The unprecedented attack on October 7 by Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007 and advocates an armed struggle against Israel, left at least 1,300 people dead in Israel. The Israeli army responded with hundreds of destructive raids in Gaza, leaving 1,799 people dead, including more than 580 children.
“Safe areas”
Mr. Blinken’s entourage raised the idea of ”safe zones” for civilians in the Gaza Strip, who were ordered by Israel to evacuate the territory’s north and who fled by the thousands to its southern part on Friday.
“We have been working with the International Committee of the Red Cross and U.N. aid agencies to work out details of what these areas might look like,” an official accompanying Mr. Blinken said on condition of anonymity.
I am in Israel at this incredibly difficult moment for this country and for the entire world. As Foreign Minister, as a Jew, as a husband and father, I understand on a personal level the harrowing echoes that Hamas’ massacres evoke. pic.twitter.com/aY7MrAdK62
– Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) October 12, 2023
Fears for civilians in the Gaza Strip have increased after Israel ordered 1.1 million people – almost half of the total population – to evacuate the territory’s north as a ground offensive looms. UN chief Antonio Guterres called on Israel to “avoid a human catastrophe.”
Rafah crossing
The United States is also in negotiations with Israel and Egypt to open the Rafah crossing on the border with Egypt to foreigners, particularly Americans, who want to leave the Gaza Strip, the official said. American accompanying Mr. Blinken.
This point of departure from Gaza towards Egypt has been closed since Tuesday after it was the target of three Israeli bombings in 24 hours, with most of the damage caused on the Palestinian side.
King Abdullah II of Jordan, a long-time partner of the United States, called for “opening humanitarian corridors to allow urgent medical and humanitarian assistance to enter Gaza, protect civilians, and end the escalation and war against Gaza.”
On Thursday in Tel Aviv, Mr. Blinken expressed unwavering solidarity with Israel in its war against Hamas, a movement classified as “terrorist” by the United States and the European Union.