Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken blamed Hamas for the damaged truce on Friday and mentioned that he was already seeing indicators that Israel had taken new steps to guard civilians because it resumed its army marketing campaign.
Talking simply earlier than his departure from Dubai on the finish of a two-day Center East go to, Mr. Blinken mentioned it was “important to understand why the pause came to an end: It came to an end because of Hamas. Hamas reneged on commitments it made.”
Israel has additionally publicly blamed Hamas for the tip of the short-term truce, however Hamas has mentioned Israeli airstrikes had been guilty.
Mr. Blinken famous that, hours earlier than the early morning rupture of the seven-day pause, Hamas “committed an atrocious terrorist attack in Jerusalem,” killing three individuals on Thursday. Israeli authorities said two Palestinian gunmen opened fire close to a bus cease on the outskirts of Jerusalem in an assault that additionally wounded six others.
Mr. Blinken added that Hamas additionally fired rockets into Israel on Friday and did not free hostages it had pledged to launch.
He mentioned that Israel had been taking steps aimed toward preserving civilian life, together with releasing public details about places that might be largely spared from army assaults. During a visit on Thursday to Israel, Mr. Blinken met with Israeli leaders and urged them to restrict civilian casualties, defend crucial infrastructure like hospitals and energy vegetation and make sure the stream of humanitarian support into Gaza on this subsequent part of the warfare.
Mr. Blinken spoke to reporters shortly after attending the COP28 local weather summit in Dubai. On the sidelines of the session, he met with counterparts from a number of Arab states, together with Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, in addition to the Palestinian Authority. He mentioned these discussions included “how we get on a path to a just and lasting peace,” and transfer towards a two-state answer for Israel and the Palestinians.
