From the Liveblog of
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Blinken welcomes start of aid to Gaza, still working to get foreign citizens out
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
The United States welcomes the delivery of a 20-truck convoy carrying humanitarian aid for Gazan civilians through Egypt’s Rafah crossing for the first time since the October 7 Hamas onslaught, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says in a statement.
Blinken thanks Egypt, Israel and the United Nations for securing the aid, which he says will help begin addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza where residents have been without access to sufficient food, water, medical care and safe shelter.
Blinken says the reopening of Rafah followed days of “exhaustive” diplomatic engagements by the US with Israel and Egypt and he calls on the sides to do their part to keep Rafah open so that more aid can get into Gaza.
“Hamas must not interfere with the provision of this life-saving assistance,” Blinken says. “Palestinian civilians are not responsible for Hamas’s horrific terrorism, and they should not be made to suffer for its depraved acts.”
“As President Biden stated, if Hamas steals or diverts this assistance it will have demonstrated once again that it has no regard for the welfare of the Palestinian people and as a practical matter it will hinder the international community from being able to provide this aid,” he adds
Blinken says the US will continue working to establish safe zones in Gaza where civilians can go to stay out of harm’s way, to allow US citizens looking to leave the Strip to be able to do so, and to secure the release of the hostages.
Foreign citizens were not allowed to leave today when Egypt briefly opened the border to allow the first convoy in.
The Times of Israel Community.