Israel-Hamas war
During the US Secretary of State’s visit to the region, the number of aid trucks heading to Gaza even dropped
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has ended his tour of the Middle East, admitting that his efforts to impose a permanent humanitarian pause and tighten restrictions on Israel’s attack on Gaza are still a “work in progress.”
His comments on Monday followed a meeting with Hakan Fidan, Turkey’s foreign minister, in Ankara. He will now travel to a meeting of G7 foreign ministers in Japan, where he will brief his colleagues on the US approach to the crisis and its impact on the West’s reputation.
Diplomatic progress appears to have slowed during the four days of talks that began in Jerusalem. Blinken failed to persuade Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Neyanyahu to call a humanitarian pause while talks over hostages stalled over the order and length of the pause in hostilities required for their release.
In another bombardment on Sunday evening, Israel imposed another temporary communications blackout in Gaza, despite U.S. requests not to do so.
Blinken leaves Middle East while Gaza humanitarian pause still in progress – video
The number of aid trucks crossing the Egyptian border into Gaza at the Rafah crossing fell from 100 on Friday to almost 30 in the following days.
The U.S. said Hamas – the Islamist group that rules Gaza and carried out the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel that killed 1,400 people, mostly civilians – violated the agreement allowing injured civilians to enter Egypt. The US said Hamas was trying to reserve a third of the slots for its injured fighters.
Blinken tried to strike an optimistic if cautious tone, saying: “We know the great concern here about the terrible toll on Palestinians – men, women and children in Gaza, innocent civilians – a concern that we share and share in we work.” every single day. We have spoken to the Israelis about what steps they can take to minimize civilian casualties. We are working very aggressively to bring more humanitarian aid to Gaza.”
He added: “I think you will see in the coming days that assistance can be significantly expanded to get more people who need it and to ensure that people can continue to get out of Gaza.”
He spoke amid reports that the border crossing, which was closed for two days, was reopened to allow six ambulances from Gaza.
Egyptian medics treat an injured Palestinian at the Rafah border crossing on Monday. Photo: AFP/Getty Images
But even Blinken’s claims to have found a regional consensus to prevent the crisis from escalating further were dampened by renewed fierce firefights on the southern Lebanese border between Israel and the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah.
Diplomats in many Middle Eastern countries normally allied with the United States believe Blinken has Israel’s influence to curb attacks in Gaza by calling for a permanent ceasefire or withholding U.S. funding.
They argue that the US is refusing to do so either because it believes that the military removal of Hamas is an achievable goal at an acceptable price, or because the Biden administration sees the US national interest in public unity with Israel Gaza sees above saving civilian lives.
Blinken’s unproductive talks in Ankara ended a trip that also took him to Jerusalem, Amman in Jordan, Ramallah in the West Bank and Baghdad.
Turkey withdrew its ambassador from Israel on Saturday morning, a move welcomed by the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: “Netanyahu is no longer someone we can talk to. We wrote him off.”
Erdoğan did not meet Blinken.
Turkey built a large cancer hospital in Gaza that was repeatedly attacked by Israeli forces. Turkey and Egypt have agreed to send about 1,000 of these cancer patients and other injured civilians in need of urgent care in Gaza to Turkey for treatment, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said on Sunday, adding that planning the move is underway being worked on.
There were large protests in front of US bases in Turkey.
Anti-American protests in Turkey during Antony Blinken’s visit. Photo: Çağla Gürdoğan/Portal
Perhaps the most worrying aspect of the past month is the slow loss of U.S. diplomatic standing and the gradual, if limited, signs of cooperation between Iran and Arab states.
Tehran announced that Saudi Arabia and Iran would soon jointly convene an Organization of Islamic Cooperation conference in Riyadh. Iran has stepped up its diplomatic efforts, with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi speaking to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and urging him to do more to support the Palestinian cause.
The U.S. has pushed Israel to do more to explain its case, and on Monday Netanyahu met dozens of envoys in Tel Aviv to tell them that after destroying Hamas, Israel would give the people of Gaza “a real, He said the conflict was a battle between barbarism and civilization in which everyone must take part.
Blinken warned in Baghdad on Sunday that attacks by militias linked to Iran were “unacceptable and we will take all measures to protect our citizens.”
On Monday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani traveled to Tehran, possibly to deliver a more detailed version of that message. Al-Sudani also wants Iran-backed militias to be restricted.
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