Blinken says Israeli offers to increase flow of aid to Gaza are welcome but may not be sufficient
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that measures the Israeli government has announced to expand the flow of aid into Gaza are welcome but may not be enough to meet the Biden administration’s demands for dramatic improvements in humanitarian conditions in the territory
LEUVEN, Belgium (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that the measures the Israeli government has announced to expand the flow of aid into Gaza are welcome but may not be enough to meet the Biden administration’s demands for dramatic improvements in humanitarian conditions in the territory.
Blinken said that opening more border crossings, if fully implemented, has the potential to surge assistance to Palestinians caught in the fighting between Israel and Hamas. However, the U.S. also wants to see tangible steps to bolster the protection of civilians and aid workers, he said.
In addition, he called for an “independent, thorough and fully publicized investigation” into the recent killings of aid workers. Seven employees of the charity World Central Kitchen, including six international volunteers, were killed in multiple Israeli airstrikes on their convoy in Gaza late Monday.
The incident sparked international outrage and put Israel on the defensive about its conduct in its six-month-old war against Hamas, particularly the high number of civilian deaths in Gaza.
