 "Secretary of State Antony Blinken")
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv, as Israeli troops encircled Gaza City and carried out intense aerial bombardments.
Israel repeated that a ceasefire with Hamas isn’t on the table after calls from the US for a pause to allow the release of hostages in Gaza. Blinken said ahead of his arrival that Washington is “determined to deter any escalation”.
Israeli forces again pounded the Gaza Strip from ground, sea and air throughout the night amid global alarm over horrendous conditions inside the besieged territory and rising number of deaths of Palestinian civilians.
Speaking before meeting Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Blinken reiterated that Israel has a right to “do everything possible” to ensure that such an attack never happened again.
But he added: “It is very important when it comes to protection of civilians who are caught in the crossfire of Hamas’s making, that everything be done to protect them and to bring assistance to those who so desperately need it, who are not in any way responsible for what happened on October 7.”
Meanwhile, the leader of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, praised “martyrs” in Lebanon and elsewhere who have been killed in fighting against Israel since the Israel-Hamas war began. He added that Hamas decision was right, wise and courageous. Hezbollah Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah made the remarks — his first public statement on the war — via video link during a ceremony commemorating members killed in clashes with Israel. It comes as Lebanon-based Hezbollah and Israel’s military exchange fire on a daily basis, raising concerns about a wider conflict in the Middle East.
