During 2.5 hour of one-on-one talks in Ankara with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Washington was working “very aggressively” to increase the amount of aid flowing to civilians in the Gaza Strip.
“We are working, as I said, very aggressively on getting more humanitarian assistance into Gaza and we have very concrete ways of doing that. I think we will see in the days ahead that the assistance can expand in significant ways.”
Blinken claimed a “pause” could help ensure more aid reached civilians, adding that the US was working every day to ensure Israel was involved in minimising civilian casualties.
We’ve engaged the Israelis on steps that they can take to minimise civilian casualties. We are very focused on the hostages held by Hamas, including the Americans, and we are doing everything possible to bring them home.
Israeli troops are expected to enter the Gaza city and face militants using a vast network of tunnels. Casualties of the month-long war have already claimed the lives of more than 9,700 Palestinians and more than 1,400 Israelis, most of whom were civilians.
Antony Blinken did not meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had sharply criticised Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
On October 7, Hamas announced Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel. The group’s militants then infiltrated into Israel and started launching rockets from the Gaza Strip.
In response, Israel launched Operation Iron Sword, carrying out a total siege of the Gaza Strip and conducting aerial strikes.
