Step up aid delivery in Gaza, Blinken asks Israel

KABUL (Pajhwok): Top American and Israeli officials have reviewed the humanitarian situation in Gaza, the State Department said.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken phoned Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday -- three days after the US diplomat held a similar conversation with Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer.

The secretary urged further actions to substantially increase and sustain humanitarian aid to civilians across the embattled enclave.

State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told journalists Israel had failed to create the necessary conditions for delivering aid to civilians in Gaza.

Earlier in the week, the Biden administration renewed its call for de-escalation in the Middle East and greater aid flows into Gaza.

Blinken underlined the need for tension-defusing measures in a phone call with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer.

A statement from the State Department quoted the secretary as stressing the imperative of ending the war in Gaza and bringing all hostages home.

Blinken also called for charting a path forward in the post-conflict period that provided governance, security and reconstruction.

Blinken spoke about the dire status of humanitarian conditions in Gaza, reviewed steps to improve the situation and urged further actions to surge aid to civilians.

“The secretary reaffirmed the United States’ ironclad commitment to Israel’s security against threats from Iran and Iran-backed proxy groups,” the statement added.

PAN Monitor/mud