Blinken urges Israel to protect civilians amid tough Gaza truce talks

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has told Israel that it must account for the safety of Palestinian civilians before resuming any military operations in Gaza, where a week-long truce has allowed the exchange of captives held by Hamas for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.

As negotiators from Qatar and Egypt were in difficult talks on Thursday for a new two-day extension to the pause in fighting between Hamas and Israel, the United States’s top diplomat made his third trip to the region since the Israel-Palestinian war began on October 7.

Blinken said Washington remains committed to supporting Israel’s right to self-defence, but also stepped up calls for Israel to comply with international law and protect civilians if it starts major military operations in southern Gaza.

His message was in keeping with the administration of US President Joe Biden’s shifting rhetoric on the war, which began as a full-throated embrace of Israel’s response to the Hamas attacks but gradually tempered as the number of Palestinian civilian casualties began to rise dramatically.

More than 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, including more than 6,000 children. The death toll and scale of destruction have prompted widespread international criticism.

As Israel bombarded hospitals,  schools and homes, the Gaza Ministry of Health said at least 7,000 people are still missing or feared buried under the rubble, and more than 36,000 Palestinians have been wounded, many with life-altering injuries. With 26 of Gaza’s 35 hospitals out of service, their chances of getting treatment are slim.

According to Ibrahim Abusharif of Northwestern University in Qatar, Blinken’s continued trips to Israel and meetings with Israeli leaders “doesn’t seem like it’s moving the needle in any direction”

“What set the tone was the early rhetoric from the Biden administration that gave unconditional support for what turned out to be a genocidal war,” he told Al Jazeera. “Blinken can try to soften his rhetoric and apply pressure, but in the end, it won’t bring back the dead in Gaza.”

During a meeting in Jerusalem, Blinken assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he could count on US support. But, he said that such support requires Israel’s “compliance with international humanitarian law,” and “urged Israel to take every possible measure to avoid civilian harm,” the US Department of State said.

(Aljazeera)