From the Liveblog of
Monday, October 16, 2023
US, Israel agree to develop plan to enable humanitarian aid for Gazan civilians — Blinken
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
The US and Israel have agreed to develop a plan to enable humanitarian aid from donor nations and multilateral organizations to reach civilians in Gaza, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announces during a press statement from the US embassy’s Tel Aviv branch office.
Blinken says the plan pushed by the US will include “the possibility of creating areas to help keep civilians out of harm’s way.”
“It is critical that aid begin flowing into Gaza as soon as possible,” Blinken says.
The secretary says that the US is aware that Hamas may try and seize or destroy such aid once it enters Gaza but asserts that the US will condemn such actions if they happen and work to prevent them in the future.
Blinken thanks Israel for agreeing to the plan and says US President Joe Biden looks forward to discussing it further when he arrives in Israel on Wednesday.
