United States – The US has shown tangible progress about the humanitarian aspects of the Gaza Strip, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday, but he cautioned that there is still much to do and expressed determination to lobby Israeli officials again this week to do more.
Focus on Humanitarian Aid
In the wake of Blinken’s remarks, where he checked in on humanitarian aid to Gaza one month ago, Biden issued a stark warning to Netanyahu that if Netanyahu is unable to take necessary steps, such as avoiding harm to civilians, alleviating humanitarian suffering, and ensuring the safety of aid workers, Washington’s humanitarian aid policy will shift, as reported by Reuters.
From the beginning, Blinken stressed the number of newly opened border crossings and the quantity of humanitarian aid as symbols of progress.
“But, it is not enough. We still need to get more aid in and around Gaza. We need to improve de-confliction with the humanitarian assistance workers,” Blinken said, referring to a mechanism that will ensure Israel does not strike aid groups.
“We finally have to make sure that we’re not just focusing on inputs but on impact. All of this is going to be the focus of the next few days for me as I travel onto Jordan and Israel,” Blinken said.
Continued Diplomatic Efforts Amidst Ongoing Crisis
At present, the top American diplomat is touring the Middle East for the seventh time as he has tried to orchestrate peace between Palestine and Israel starting on Oct. 7 when Palestinian Hamas militants attacked Israel. As a result, 1,200 people were killed, and 250 others were abducted, according to Israeli statistics.
Israel flexed its military power, killing more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to their health authorities, by showering the densely populated recluse with bombs to turn it into a wasteland. The United Nations speculates that more than one million persons are faced with the threat of starvation, which has taken six months of war.
What comes next is Riyadh, and then Jordan will be the next stop. There will be a change of focus in Israel, where it will revolve around the best way to sustain increased humanitarian aid in Gaza and identifying the remaining obstacles in that regard.
“I’ll have a chance to meet with humanitarian groups and the Israeli government, hear from them where more work is needed, and continue to press for tangible, immediate, and sustained progress.”
International Response and Increased Humanitarian Aid
The severe humanitarian crisis raises the demand for other Western and Arab countries to do more for the alleviation of the situation in the enclave, where most people are now homeless, many are starving, and human infrastructure was heavily damaged and reported an increase in diseases, as reported by Reuters. The Humanitarian aid that will go to Gaza will be ramped up in the coming days, the Israeli military said Sunday, citing the new paths that use an Israeli seaport and border crossings into the Gaza