Blinken: The U.S. Appreciates Israel's Efforts to Minimize Civilian Harm to Palestinians

Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, on Friday referenced the Israel-Hamas war, stating that the U.S. appreciates Israel's efforts to minimize harm to Palestinian civilians, but these actions are not enough. Blinken, speaking in New Delhi, India, at the end of a nine-day intensive diplomatic trip to the Middle East and Asia, commended Israel's official announcement of a daily four-hour humanitarian pause in the war, which allows Palestinians to move from north to south Gaza, but emphasized that more needs to be done. On Saturday, Israel opened the first corridor from the Salah al-Din road, allowing Palestinians in the north to move south between 1 PM and 4 PM local time. However, Hamas exploited this situation, targeting forces attempting to open the road with mortars and guided anti-tank missiles. Blinken stated that Israel's actions 'save lives and provide more aid to reach needy Palestinians,' but simultaneously, 'more must be done to protect civilians and ensure humanitarian aid reaches them.' He mentioned that the U.S. has provided further proposals on how to achieve this to the Israelis. According to the Associated Press, U.S. officials have expressed a willingness for Israel to create longer 'humanitarian pauses' covering broader areas of the two corridors and to increasingly allow the entry of trucks carrying food, water, medicine, shelter, and other essential supplies from Egypt into Gaza. President Joe Biden, in an interview on Thursday detailing his efforts for a 'short humanitarian pause' agreement with Israel, wrote on X: 'For weeks, I have been discussing with Israeli leaders the importance of short humanitarian pauses in the war to get civilians to safety, support the release of hostages, and increase the flow of food, water, and medicine to Gaza.' Meanwhile, Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, on Friday called for an investigation into what he described as Israel's 'indiscriminate' bombing and shelling in densely populated areas of Gaza. Turk urged Israel to cease 'the use of such methods and weapons,' adding that the high level of civilian casualties 'raises serious concerns that these attacks may constitute disproportionate attacks in violation of international humanitarian law.' Blinken's and Turk's statements come as the Israeli army has advanced into densely populated urban neighborhoods in its battle against Hamas militants. Ground battles continue fiercely around hospitals, and Israeli airstrikes are ongoing. Israel claims that Hamas uses hospitals and other civilian areas as cover for its military activities and uses civilians as human shields. Following Hamas militants' attacks on Israel on October 7, over 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed. The group, backed by the Islamic Republic, also kidnapped about 240 Israelis and foreign nationals, including children, women, and the elderly. After these attacks, Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza and initiated its air, sea, and ground assaults. The Hamas militant group is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., the European Union, the UK, and several other countries. Netanyahu: Israel is not seeking to occupy or govern Gaza. Biden outlined the 'humanitarian pauses' plan in Gaza. Military advances towards the main hospital in Gaza; Israel claims Hamas's command center is in this hospital. Yoav Galant: Israel will not stop the war until hostages are freed.