US-Israel reach consensus on developing aid plan for Gaza civilians: Antony Blinken
The United States and Israel have agreed to develop a plan to get humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza without benefiting Hamas, US secretary of state Antony Blinken announced on Tuesday.
He also announced that US President Joe Biden will be visiting Israel and later meeting Arab leaders in Jordan on Wednesday.
“Today, at our request, the United States and Israel have agreed to develop a plan that will enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza, including the possibility of creating areas to help keep civilians out of harm’s way,” Blinken wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Blinken, however, did not provide details about the aid plan. Israel has put Gaza under a total blockade and has pounded it with unprecedented air strikes in response to the October 7 attack on its town by Palestine-based militant group Hamas.
As Israel stopped the flow of resources to Gaza, over 2.3 million civilians there have been facing a deepening struggle for food, water, and fuel. Media reports showed hospitals in Gaza were on the verge of losing electricity, threatening the lives of thousands of patients.
The United Nations said truckloads of aid remain stuck at Egypt’s border with Gaza. Cairo had said the Rafah crossing, a potentially vital opening for desperately needed supplies into the Palestinian enclave, is not officially closed but is inoperable due to Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza side.
Concerns have also been mounting globally about the humanitarian crisis and fears that the war could metastasize into a broader regional conflict.
On Tuesday, Blinken said the United States shared Israel’s concern that Hamas may seize or destroy aid entering Gaza or prevent it from reaching people in need.
“If Hamas in any way blocks humanitarian assistance from reaching civilians, including by seizing the aid itself, we’ll be the first to condemn it,” he said. “And we will work to prevent it from happening again.”
Blinken made the announcement after holding talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for over nine hours. At one point, their meeting was disrupted by air raid sirens warning of incoming Palestinian rocket fire, forcing them to briefly take shelter in a bunker.