The army of Israel is surrounding Gaza and advances in its counteroffensive against the group Hamasthat has already reported more than 9,000 deaths, including 3,760 children. Given this scenario, the president of United States, Joe Bidenan ally of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called for a humanitarian pause in the conflict and a “temporary, localized and focused” cessation of hostilities.
Yesterday, in the middle of a campaign event, an aide asked the president to call a ceasefire, to which Biden responded: “I think we need a break“.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby explained today what that pause could mean. They propose “a humanitarian pause is temporary, localized and focused.” “Focused on a particular objective or objectives: entry of humanitarian aid, exit of people“, indicated Kirby, who explained that “the general idea is that in that geographical space, for a limited amount of time, there would be a cessation of hostilities, sufficient to allow whatever it is they are trying to allow“.
The White House had previously urged make “humanitarian pauses” to allow the delivery of aid in Gaza or to carry out evacuationsbut until now refused to discuss a ceasefireunder the belief that this would only suit Hamas.
“We are not advocating a general ceasefire at this point,” Kirby confirmed. “As I said before, we believe that A general ceasefire would benefit Hamas by giving it breathing room and time to continue planning. and carrying out attacks on the Israeli people,” he assessed.
Blinken to travel to Israel amid escalation in Gaza
For his part, the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinkenwill be in Israel tomorrow and announced that will ask for “concrete measures” to minimize the danger for Gaza civilians.
“We are going to talk about concrete measures that can and should be taken to minimize harm to the men, women and children of Gaza“Blinken declared at Andrews Air Force Base before traveling. He added:”This is something the United States is committed to.“.
Although he highlighted that the United States believes that Israel has “the right and obligation to defend oneself“after the attack launched against them by Hamas at the beginning of the month, which left some 1,400 dead, Blinken considered that further civilian casualties in Gaza must be avoided.
“When I see a Palestinian child, a boy or a girl, pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building, That hits me in the gut as much as seeing a child in Israel or anywhere else.“he emphasized.
Before leaving, Blinken met with Saudi Arabian Defense Minister Khalid bin Salmanin Washington, and asked to achieve the “stability” in the Middle East and “sustainable peace” between Israelis and Palestinians.
Blinken stressed the importance of “address humanitarian needs“of the population of Gaza, to prevent a”further spread of the conflict in the area and reinforce regional stability and security, including in Yemen,” said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
“He has also emphasized the importance of working towards sustainable peace between Israelis and Palestinians, a priority shared by both the United States and Saudi Arabia“, he noted, before expressing the United States’ commitment to “defending its partners against threats from state and non-state actors.”
Furthermore, he reaffirmed the “lasting value of strategic partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia to ensure a lasting peace agreement in Yemen and launch a political dialogue in the country under the auspices of the UN“, according to the Europa Press news agency.
Source: Ambito
