U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Friday to press for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into besieged Gaza, while Israeli troops tightened their encirclement of Gaza City, the focus of Israel’s campaign to crush the enclave’s ruling Hamas group.
On the northern border with Lebanon, tensions escalated ahead of a speech planned for later Friday by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. He is making his first public comments since Hamas attacked Israel last month.
Hezbollah, an Iran-backed ally of Hamas, attacked Israeli military positions in northern Israel with drones, mortar fire and suicide drones, stoking fears the Israel-Hamas war could become a regional one. The Israeli military said it retaliated with warplanes and helicopter gunships.
Since the war began on Oct. 7, Hezbollah has taken calculated steps to keep Israel’s military busy on the country’s border with Lebanon but so far has done nothing of the extent to ignite an all-out war.
More than 9,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza so far, and another 1,400 people have died in Israel, mainly civilians killed during Hamas’ initial attack.
Blinken is making his third trip to Israel since the Hamas attack. This trip takes him to Tel Aviv and Amman, Jordan, and follows President Joe Biden’s suggestion for a humanitarian “pause” in the fighting. The aim would be to let in aid for Palestinians and let out more foreign nationals and wounded. Around 800 people left Gaza over the past two days.
Israel did not immediately respond to Biden’s suggestion. But Netanyahu, who has previously ruled out a cease-fire, said Thursday: “We are advancing … Nothing will stop us.” He vowed to destroy Hamas rule in the Gaza Strip.
The U.S. has pledged unwavering support for Israel after Hamas militants killed hundreds of men, women and children and took some 240 people captive almost four weeks ago.
Before Blinken departed, the U.S. State Department reiterated American “support for Israel’s right to defend itself.” At the same time, the Biden administration has pushed for Israel to let more aid into Gaza amid growing alarm over the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territory.
More than 3,700 Palestinian children have been killed in 25 days of fighting, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. Bombardment has driven more than half the territory’s 2.3 million people from their homes. Food, water and fuel are running low under Israel’s siege, and overwhelmed hospitals warn they are on the verge of collapse.
Israel has allowed more than 260 trucks carrying food and medicine through the crossing, but aid workers say it’s not nearly enough. Israeli authorities have refused to allow fuel in, saying Hamas is hoarding fuel for military use and would steal new supplies.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. was not advocating for a general cease-fire but a “temporary, localized” pause.
Israel and the U.S. seem to have no clear plan for what would come next if Hamas rule in Gaza is brought down — a key question on Blinken’s agenda on his upcoming visit, according to the State Department.
