Blinken says Israel must view ‘protecting civilians’ in Gaza as its ‘no. 1’ priority

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he held a virtual meeting with counterparts from the UK, Cyprus, the EU, the UAE, and Qatar to discuss the maritime corridor for aid to Gaza announced by US President Joe Biden last week.

The Pentagon says the temporary pier being built will be operational in roughly two months, at which point Blinken says it will be used to deliver two million meals per day to Gazan civilians, who the UN warns are at risk of famine.

Blinken reiterates that the eventual maritime route is meant only to supplement the shipment of aid through land corridors and highlights the new route opened by Israel to deliver aid directly into northern Gaza.

“The bottom line is we need to see flooding of the zone when it comes to humanitarian assistance for Gaza,” Blinken says, while acknowledging that the best way to ensure more aid gets in is by securing a truce and hostage deal, which Hamas has yet to accept.

Blinken met earlier today with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell who accused Israel of using food as a weapon of war in Gaza. The secretary appeared to reject this argument, saying Israel has worked to ensure more aid gets into Gaza, even if it remains insufficient.

Asked to comment on reports that an Israeli strike hit an UNRWA warehouse earlier today, killing one staffer and wounding 22 others, Blinken says he does not have enough information yet to adjudicate the matter. However, the incident underscores the imperative for Israel to implement better deconfliction mechanisms, despite the difficult conditions in which the IDF is fighting, he adds.

“We look to the government of Israel to make sure this is a priority. Protecting civilians, getting people the assistance they need, that has to be job number one, even as they do what is necessary to defend the country and to deal with the threat posed by Hamas,” Blinken says.