U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that “far too many” Palestinians have died and suffered as Israel wages war against Hamas in Gaza.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, India, Blinken urged Israel to minimise harm to civilians and maximise humanitarian assistance that reaches them.
“Much more needs to be done to protect civilians and to make sure that humanitarian assistance reaches them,” he said. “Far too many Palestinians have been killed, far too many have suffered these past weeks, and we want to do everything possible to prevent harm to them and to maximise the assistance that gets to them.”
Blinken spoke as he wrapped up a nine-day diplomatic tour of the Middle East and Asia — his second trip in the region since the war began on October 7.
Starting last week, Blinken’s tour took him to eight countries — Israel, Jordan, Cyprus, Iraq, Turkey, Japan, South Korea and India — as well as the occupied West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv last Friday rejected the idea of “humanitarian pauses,” saying military pressure on Hamas could not be eased.
“We are going full steam ahead,” Netanyahu said shortly after Blinken warned that Palestinians were being driven toward further radicalism that could perpetuate the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian conflict and leave Israel at greater risk.
(With information from the Associated Press)