In apparent shift, Blinken says humanitarian pauses in Gaza should be considered

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says “humanitarian pauses” in the Gaza war must be considered in order to protect Palestinian civilians.

The remark during his address to a ministerial gathering of the UN Security Council on the war is the first time a US official has publicly called for any sort of stoppage to the fighting.

The idea falls short of a ceasefire, which US officials have rejected in recent days as a step that would amount to help for Hamas, arguing that Israel still has a right to forcefully respond to the October 7 onslaught in order to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

“Palestinian civilians must be protected. That means Hamas must cease using them as human shields. It’s hard to think of an act of greater cynicism,” Blinken says.

“It means Israel must take all possible precautions to avoid harm to civilians. It means food, water, medicine and other essential humanitarian assistance must be able to flow into Gaza and to the people who need it. It means civilians must be able to get out of harm’s way. It means humanitarian pauses must be considered for these purposes,” the secretary of state adds.