From the Liveblog of
Thursday, November 2, 2023
Blinken: Civilians ‘bearing brunt’ of IDF’s Gaza campaign, we’ll discuss steps to protect them
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that civilians have been “bear[ing] the brunt” of Israel’s military campaign targeting Hamas in Gaza and that he will be discussing “concrete steps” the IDF can take in order to protect civilians when he arrives in Israel tomorrow for his third visit since the outbreak of the war.
“Israel has not only the right but the obligation to defend itself and also to take steps to try to make sure that this never happens again,” Blinken says on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews before boarding a plane for Israel.
“We’ve also said very clearly and repeatedly that how Israel does this matters,” he asserts. “We’ve seen in recent days Palestinian civilians continuing to bear the brunt of this action, and… We want to look at concrete steps that can be taken to better protect them.”
At the same time, the secretary acknowledges that Hamas is “quite literally” the reason why civilians have been caught in the crossfire due to its use of human shields and its placement of military sites underneath or inside hospitals, schools and mosques.
Blinken says he has five main agenda items for his trip: Strategizing with Israel about its military campaign; ensuring that the war doesn’t spread to additional fronts; continuing efforts to get more humanitarian aid into Gaza; helping get all American citizens and foreign nationals who want to get out of Gaza be able to do so; securing the release of all hostages in Gaza; and setting the conditions for an eventual two-state solution after the war is over.
The secretary will travel to Jordan on Friday evening followed by stops in Japan, South Korea and New Delhi. Additional stops may be added as well.
