New York [US], October 24 (ANI): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said “humanitarian pauses” in the Gaza war must be considered in order to protect Palestinian civilians, The Times of Israel reported.
Blinken made the remarks in his address to a ministerial gathering of the UN Security Council on the Israel-Gaza crisis.
This comes as the first time a US official has publicly called for any sort of stoppage to the fighting.
As per The Times of Israel, Blinken’s idea falls short of a ceasefire which US officials have rejected in recent days as a step that would amount to help for Hamas, arguing that Israel still has a right to forcefully respond to the October 7 onslaught in order to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.
Blinken said, “Palestinian civilians must be protected. That means Hamas must cease using them as human shields. It’s hard to think of an act of greater cynicism.”
“It means Israel must take all possible precautions to avoid harm to civilians. It means food, water, medicine and other essential humanitarian assistance must be able to flow into Gaza and to the people who need it. It means civilians must be able to get out of harm’s way. It means humanitarian pauses must be considered for these purposes,” the US State Secretary added.
Blinken called out the international community for failing to explicitly condemn the October 7 Hamas onslaught.
Blinken in his speech said that in his conversations with world leaders since the assault, there has been agreement that countries have a right and obligation to respond to terror attacks against their civilians but indicates that not all of them have acknowledged this publicly.
“It must be asked, Where’s the outrage? Where’s the revulsion? Where’s the rejection? Where’s the explicit condemnation of these horrors?” Blinken asked.
The secretary called on countries to do everything in their power to secure the release of the remaining 220-plus hostages in Gaza.
Blinken told the ministerial gathering that while the US does not seek conflict with Iran, it will respond if Tehran or its proxies attack US personnel. “Make no mistake. We will defend our people. We will defend our security swiftly and decisively.”
The US State Secretary urged Security Council members to call out Iran for its malign regional activity and warn it, like the US has, not to open another front against Israel.
“Act as if the security and stability of the entire region and beyond is on the line because it is,” Blinken told members.
He urged members to “redouble our collective effort” to work toward a two-state solution following the outbreak of the war in Gaza.
“The only road to lasting peace and security in the region, the only way to break out of this horrific cycle of violence is through two states for two peoples,” Blinken said, acknowledging that it will be difficult.
“Nothing would be a greater victory for Hamas, than allowing its brutality to send us down the path of terrorism and nihilism. We must not let it. Hamas does not get to choose for us,” Blinken says, adding that the path the US and the world should choose is one where the region is more integrated and “normalized” — hinting at efforts to broker an Israel-Saudi agreement
Meanwhile, Israel has demanded the resignation of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres from his position over his remarks against the Israeli counteroffensive in Gaza after terror attacks by Hamas on October 7.
The Israeli envoy to the UN, Gilad Erdan called Guterres “unfit” to lead the UN and called for his resignation.
“The @UN Secretary-General, who shows understanding for the campaign of mass murder of children, women, and the elderly, is not fit to lead the UN. I call on him to resign immediately. There is no justification or point in talking to those who show compassion for the most terrible atrocities committed against the citizens of Israel and the Jewish people. There are simply no words,” he stated on social media platform X.
This came after the UN chief said that the attacks by Hamas “did not happen in a vacuum” further adding that the attacks cannot justify the “collective punishment of the Palestinian people”.
“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of suffocating occupation. They have seen their land steadily devoured by settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a political solution to their plight have been vanishing,” the UN chief said at the General Assembly., as per The Times of Israel. (ANI)
