Blinken talks to AP CEO after Israel’s bombing of Gaza bureau, offers ‘unwavering support’

By Jacob Magid

You will receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

You will no longer receive email alerts from this author. Manage alert preferences on your profile page

16 May 2021, 4:56 am

Edit

Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief

Secretary of State Antony Blinken participates in a virtual bilateral meeting with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta at the State Department in Washington, Tuesday, April 27, 2021. (Leah Millis/Pool via AP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke this evening with Associated Press CEO Gary Pruitt following the bombing of his Gaza bureau’s office building by Israel, which claims that the tower also housed Hamas operatives.

Blinken “offered his unwavering support for independent journalists and media organizations around the world and noted the indispensability of their reporting in conflict zones,” according to a State Department readout.

Blinken expresses “relief that the Associated Press team on the ground in Gaza remains safe.”

The statement does not mention Israel’s role in the bombing or explicitly condemn that it took place.