Blinken calls for extended humanitarian pauses in the Israel-Hamas conflict, citing "far too many" Palestinian deaths

 Blinken calls for extended humanitarian pauses in the Israel-Hamas conflict, citing "far too many" Palestinian deaths

More work has to be done, according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to safeguard civilians and make sure Palestinians impacted by the Israel-Hamas war get humanitarian aid. After a nine-day diplomatic trip of the Middle East and Asia, Blinken made these remarks.

Hamas-Israel war: On Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Israel's ceaseless battle against the Hamas organization in the Gaza Strip has resulted in "far too many" Palestinian deaths and injuries. 

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Blinken said that while recent Israeli efforts to alleviate the dire conditions in Gaza as its military advances farther into the region are encouraging, they are by no means sufficient. These efforts include the establishment of a second safe corridor and military operations pauses that permit Palestinians to travel from northern to southern Gaza.

He said, "Much more work needs to be done to protect civilians and ensure that humanitarian aid reaches them." "Far too many Palestinians have been assassinated killed, and a lot more have suffered these past weeks, and we want to do anything possible to prevent harm to them as well as to maximize the assistance that gets to them."

Blinken was speaking as he concluded a rigorous nine-day diplomatic tour of the Middle East and Asia. This was his second frantic journey to the region since the conflict started on October 7, when Hamas launched its murderous invasion into southern Israel. 

Blinken did not provide any details, just stating that the US had made further suggestions on how to better safeguard people.

According to US officials, Israel should extend "humanitarian pauses" in regions outside of the two designated safe passage zones and greatly increase the volume of supplies entering Gaza from Egypt by boosting the number of truck convoys.

According to Blinken, the US is also steadfast in its efforts to secure the release of Israeli along with additional hostages held by Hamas, free all foreign nationals who choose to leave Gaza, stop the bloodshed from spreading to other parts of the area, and start making preparations for what a post-conflict Gaza would look like.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, said that military pressure on Hamas could not be reduced last Friday in Tel Aviv, rejecting the notion of "humanitarian pauses."

Shortly after Blinken cautioned that Palestinians were being pushed into more extremism, which may prolong the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and put Israel at greater danger, Netanyahu said, "We are going full steam ahead."