Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on Friday called on Israeli leaders to take action to protect Palestinian civilians in Gaza and bring more humanitarian aid to the besieged territory amid a war that has killed thousands of people and ignited the Middle East has.
But shortly after meeting with Mr. Blinken, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to reject the Biden administration’s call for a series of “humanitarian pauses” to allow more deliveries of urgently needed food, water, medicine and other supplies and to facilitate the release of Hostages held by Hamas. Mr Netanyahu said any ceasefire would be contingent on the release of Israeli hostages, many of them children, who were kidnapped in a deadly attack on October 7.
“I have made it clear that we are moving forward vigorously and that Israel rejects a temporary ceasefire that does not include the release of our hostages held by Hamas,” he said. He also stood firm on Israel’s refusal to allow fuel into the Gaza Strip, despite limited deliveries of other essential supplies there.
Mr. Blinken told reporters in Tel Aviv that the United States stood “in solidarity” with Israel, but said that in meetings with Mr. Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders he had stressed that “it depends” on how Israel leads its campaign to defeat Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza. According to the Israeli government, more than 1,400 people were killed and more than 200 hostages were taken in the Hamas-orchestrated attack on October 7.
“We gave Israel advice that only the best of friends can give on how to minimize civilian deaths while achieving its goals of finding and destroying Hamas terrorists,” Blinken said. He said they discussed “concrete steps” to protect civilians and also “tangible steps” to allow more aid to the Gaza Strip, but did not elaborate on either issue.
As President Biden continues to express his unequivocal support for Israel and says the country has the right to defend itself, there is growing concern within his administration that the Palestinian death toll in the Gaza Strip, according to the Hamas-controlled Health Ministry, is exceeding 9,200 – worsening humanitarian conditions and physical destruction caused by Israeli bombing and week-long ground invasion.
As Israel’s ground forces advance into Gaza’s largest city and its airstrikes kill and injure many more Palestinians every day, anger is growing across the region, even as Mr. Blinken tries to stop Israel’s opponents from expanding the war. Fighting between Israeli troops and the armed group Hezbollah escalated on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, and Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah gave a fiery speech on Friday condemning both Israel and the United States.
After meeting with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Mr. Blinken said: “When it comes to protecting civilians caught in Hamas’ crossfire, it is very important that everything is done to protect them and provide assistance.” to those who need it so desperately.”
But he reiterated that the United States remained steadfastly behind Israel. He told reporters that he had been shown additional images and videos collected by the Israeli government that documented the slaughter of civilians on October 7. “It remains almost beyond the human ability to process and digest,” Mr. Blinken said.
A pause in fighting would allow humanitarian aid to be distributed, facilitate hostage negotiations and allow more people to leave Gaza into Egypt through the Rafah crossing, the government said. The first several hundred dual nationals, foreigners and employees of international organizations were allowed to leave this week.
More than a million people in Gaza have been displaced by the war, and the Israeli-blockaded area is facing dangerous shortages of food, fuel, water and medicine. After outside aid was completely stopped in the first two weeks of the war, dozens of trucks carrying relief supplies are now driving into the Gaza Strip every day.
“This is significant progress in just a few weeks — but also insufficient,” Mr. Blinken said, echoing the view of the United Nations and aid agencies.
Mr. Blinken left Israel for talks in Amman, Jordan, with Jordanian leaders and other regional partners about releasing hostages held by Hamas and preventing the war from expanding.
Michael D. Shear, Cassandra Vinograd and Aaron Boxerman contributed reporting.
— Adam Entous reports from Tel Aviv