US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Wednesday that work is underway to reach a humanitarian truce in the Gaza Strip similar to the previous truce, adding that Israel welcomes the return to a humanitarian truce in Gaza and the release of hostages, and “the problem is in the position of the Hamas movement.”
Blinken stated, in a press conference in Washington, that “many countries are calling for an end to the conflict in Gaza, but no one is demanding the disarmament of Hamas or the dismantling of its capabilities,” explaining that “if Hamas surrenders its weapons, the crisis in Gaza will end immediately.”
The US Secretary of State stressed that "it would be good to have a strong international voice pressuring Hamas to surrender," highlighting that the United States "still believes that Israel is obligated to eliminate Hamas and reduce civilian casualties in Gaza."
He stressed that Washington “will help Israel ensure that what happened on October 7 will not happen again,” explaining that his country expects and desires to see a shift towards more specific operations by Israel, and stated that “with this shift occurring, you will witness a significant reduction in the damage caused.” "With civilians."
Regarding humanitarian aid, he said that the measures taken, including the opening of the Kerem Shalom crossing, would increase the provision of humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Blinken also expressed his hope that a positive result would be reached on a UN Security Council resolution regarding the war on Gaza, after the United States had previously used its veto in this regard. He said: "We worked on this intensively. I hope that we will be able to reach satisfactory results."
In turn, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed today, Wednesday, that the ongoing talks regarding a possible new truce in Gaza are “very serious,” and that humanitarian aid can cross into Gaza from Jordan.
Kirby said, in a press conference: “These are very serious discussions and negotiations, and we hope they will bear fruit,” adding: “It is something we have been working on since the end of the previous pause.” He explained that it was now possible for humanitarian aid to reach the Gaza Strip from Jordan.
In this context, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the occupying State announced, today, Wednesday, Israel’s desire to “accelerate the delivery of humanitarian aid” to Gaza via a maritime axis from Cyprus “to enhance balance in the region.”
Eli Cohen said that Israeli and Cypriot technical teams will spend Wednesday and Thursday determining the details of the initiative so that humanitarian aid shipments can begin from the port of Larnaca, 240 kilometers from Gaza, as soon as possible.
He added, after talks with his Cypriot counterpart, Constantinos Kombos: “Cyprus and Israel, along with other partners in the region, are promoting a safe shipping corridor initiative to facilitate the transfer of humanitarian aid to Gaza in an organized manner and subject to good inspection.”
Cohen reported details of the initiative during a visit to the Zenon Joint Relief Coordination Center in Larnaca that will serve as an operating center for aid shipments. He personally inspected storage facilities and security arrangements in the port of Larnaca.
Cyprus presented the idea after the Israeli aggression on Gaza following the October 7 attack. The war destroyed most of northern Gaza, and the occupation forces killed about 20,000 Palestinians and expelled about 1.9 million people from their homes, in acts described as widespread and retaliatory war crimes.
Source: Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, Reuters, Associated Press
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Washington: Israel wants a truce in Gaza, and the world must put pressure on Hamas