Blinken Urges Israel to Maximize ‘Every Possible Means’ to Boost Aid to Gaza

A picture shows aid parcels being airdropped over the northern Gaza Strip on March 5, 2024. (AFP)
A picture shows aid parcels being airdropped over the northern Gaza Strip on March 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Blinken Urges Israel to Maximize ‘Every Possible Means’ to Boost Aid to Gaza

A picture shows aid parcels being airdropped over the northern Gaza Strip on March 5, 2024. (AFP)
A picture shows aid parcels being airdropped over the northern Gaza Strip on March 5, 2024. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Israel on Tuesday to maximize "every possible means" to get humanitarian assistance into Gaza, saying the current situation in the densely populated enclave was unacceptable and unsustainable.

Speaking before his meeting with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani at the State Department, the top US diplomat also said there was an opportunity right now to achieve an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war but that the onus was on the Palestinian group to engage in those talks.

"Israel has to maximize every possible means, every possible methods of getting assistance to people who need it," Blinken said, and reiterated the Biden administration's call that Israel open new border crossings to allow more humanitarian aid to go in, something that country has been resisting.

"It requires more crossings. That requires more aid getting in. And once that aid is in, it requires making sure it can get to the people who need it. So we will continue to press that every single day because the situation as it stands, is simply unacceptable," Blinken said.

Famine is now looming over the besieged Gaza Strip as aid supplies, already sharply curtailed since the start of the war, have dwindled to barely a trickle over the past month. Whole swaths of the territory are completely cut off from food. Gaza's few functioning hospitals, already overwhelmed by the wounded, are now filling with children starving to death.

Blinken's comments came as ceasefire talks in Cairo, billed as a final hurdle to reach a 40-day truce in the war between Hamas and Israel in time for the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, ended with no clear breakthrough.

"We have an opportunity for an immediate ceasefire that can bring hostages home, that can dramatically increase the amount of humanitarian assistance getting into Palestinians who so desperately need it. ... It is on Hamas to make decisions about whether it is prepared to engage in that ceasefire," Blinken said earlier.

"Qatar, the United States and our partners will be always persistent to make sure that this deal happens," said Sheikh Mohammed, standing next to Blinken.

Sheikh Mohammed, who is also the Qatari foreign minister, is visiting Washington for the latest round of US-Qatar Strategic Dialogue, a comprehensive mechanism of talks during which the two sides will discuss their military, economic and political ties.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.