From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Blinken, Austin push Gantz on Gaza humanitarian crisis during Washington meetings
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin expressed alarm during their respective Washington meetings with visiting war cabinet minister Benny Gantz regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza, their offices say.
Blinken “emphasized the need for Israel to act urgently to enable the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza and to improve the distribution of that aid inside Gaza. The current situation is unacceptable and unsustainable,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller says during a press briefing.
“While the United States is doing everything it can to increase deliveries into Gaza, Israel must take additional steps as well,” Miller says.
Blinken also “reiterated that the United States continues to support Israel’s right to ensure that the terrorist attacks of October 7 can never be repeated,” his spokesman adds.
The pair discussed ongoing hostage negotiations, which Miller says now hinge on Hamas accepting the deal that is currently on the table that would see a six-week truce put in place during which the hostages would be released and aid would surge into Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon says that during Austin’s earlier meeting with Gantz, the defense secretary expressed “expressed strong concerns over the humanitarian situation in Gaza and requested Minister Gantz’s support in enabling more humanitarian assistance and distribution into Gaza.”
Austin also reiterated his condemnation of Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught and called for the release of all hostages, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder says.
He reaffirmed the US demand for Israel to present a “credible and implementable plan for protecting civilians and addressing the humanitarian situation” before launching its major ground incursion into the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
Readouts from Gantz’s office have yet to be issued.
