Anthony Blinken told Israeli leaders that “more needs to be done” to get humanitarian aid to civilians in besieged northern Gaza, a senior Biden administration official said. the possible consequences under US law of failure to act.
On Tuesday, the US Secretary of State met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and senior military officials in a series of meetings in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.
The meetings are part of a regional tour that Washington sees as an opportunity to restore diplomacy after Israel killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Gaza last week.
The account of Blinken’s direct message to Israelis comes despite criticism that the US has failed to stem the rate of civilian deaths in Gaza because of its unwillingness to resort to providing weapons to Israel as leverage.
Washington has consistently rejected the criticism.
The official said Blinken also pressed Israel’s leadership on reports that its military was carrying out a so-called “generals’ plan” in northern Gaza — a tactic described as used forced displacement of civilians and surrender or starvation tactics against everyone. who stays?
The official said the Israelis told them the tactic was “absolutely not” their policy, and the Americans responded that their Israeli counterparts then needed to publicize this more clearly. .
Israel says its offensive in northern Gaza is aimed at preventing a resurgence of Hamas.
Blinken’s stark warning about humanitarian aid comes after his letter last week, signed by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, giving the Israeli government 30 days to ramp up aid into the north The Gaza Strip otherwise risks being cut off from some military support.
“There has been a lengthy conversation on this issue,” the senior State Department official said.
They added: “The steps are there [been] So far it hasn’t been enough and today we’ve made it clear that we need to see more.”
“We have seen some initial progress. We heard in more detail from Minister Gallant about… the steps he is overseeing to respond to it, but… both with the prime minister, Minister Dermer and with Secretary Gallant, this is a central part of the discussion. discussion,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Aid groups have warned that civilians in northern Gaza risk starvation amid the Israeli military siege.
Israel said its offensive was focused on Hamas militants, while the US warned it against trying to forcibly relocate residents to southern Gaza, where 1.7 million civilians are crammed into one area. Dangerous overcrowded areas with “death risk” due to epidemics.
Asked whether Blinken had verbally warned Israelis of the consequences if Israel did not heed his request, the official said Blinken “made it clear that it has implications under the law and our policy, [and] What those actions need to be.”
A statement issued by Prime Minister Netanyahu’s office after the meeting did not mention humanitarian assistance. It emphasized “Iran’s threat” to Israel and the need for the US and Israel to “unite” against it.
The statement also said Blinken expressed America’s “deep shock” at what Israel said was an Iranian assassination attempt on Netanyahu through a Hezbollah drone attack on the palace his own on weekends.
It said Blinken described the event as “an extremely serious incident.”
When asked whether this information was accurate, the US official said Blinken “expressed concern that this was a very serious incident… ‘Special and extreme’ is not the language he usually uses.” use.”
The official added that the US has no assessment of the claim of Iran’s involvement.
The difference in how they described their conversation stemmed from Israel’s readiness to carry out a retaliatory strike against Iran for its ballistic missile attack on Israel on October 1. That came after Israel’s recent assassinations of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut and Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
The US is trying to convince Israel to scale down its response because of concerns about escalating tensions in the region.
The US official also said Blinken discussed the war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon as part of a “diplomatic push” the Americans are making to de-escalate the fighting, but did not provide any information. Any updates on whether this is making progress or not.
