Blinken tours Kerem Shalom crossing to Gaza with Gallant, visits Kibbutz Nir Oz

Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent

File - US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, third right, stands between Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, third left, and UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, right, at the Kerem Shalom border crossing in Kerem Shalom, Israel, May 1, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)
File - US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, third right, stands between Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, third left, and UN Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for Gaza, Sigrid Kaag, right, at the Kerem Shalom border crossing in Kerem Shalom, Israel, May 1, 2024. (Evelyn Hockstein/Pool Photo via AP)

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant met earlier today with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the Kerem Shalom crossing with the Gaza Strip, saying that Israel is “committed to the return of the hostages, and prepared to carry out any mission in the Rafah area.”

Gallant and Blinken also toured the border community of Kibbutz Nir Oz, which was attacked during the Hamas-led October 7 onslaught, the Defense Ministry says.

According to the ministry, Israeli defense officials briefed Blinken and his team on the IDF’s humanitarian efforts in Gaza, as well as actions taken to prevent mistaken attacks on aid workers, following the incident in which seven members of the World Central Kitchen group were killed.

Gallant and the US secretary of state then toured the Kerem Shalom crossing and observed the inspection procedures, his office says.

In a later meeting — also attended by IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi Defense Ministry Director-General Eyal Zamir — Gallant and Blinken discussed the “efforts to return the hostages, and the need for the continuation of the military operation to dismantle Hamas,” the ministry says.

“We are determined to take any action to return our hostages back to their home, it is correct ethically, it is correct morally, and this is a declared war goal,” says Gallant in a video statement after the meeting.

“At the same time, the IDF, subject to the instructions I gave… is prepared to carry out any operational mission in the Rafah area,” he adds.

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