Friday, December 8, 2023

Blinken: There's a gap between Israel's promises and its conduct on the ground

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday criticized Israel's conduct in its operation in southern Gaza, claiming there was a "gap" between its intent to protect civilians and what has been happening on the ground, Reuters reported.

Speaking at a news conference in Washington following a meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, Blinken laid out concrete steps to ensure civilians are out of harm's way and the areas they go to are supplied with food, medicine and water.

"As we stand here almost a week into this campaign into the south ... it remains imperative that Israel put a premium on civilian protection. And there does remain a gap between, exactly what I said when I was there, the intent to protect civilians and the actual results that we're seeing on the ground," Blinken said.

On top of having safe areas, Blinken said, it would be important to have communications in place so that people know where they can go and when, and that the periods that they can move from one place to the other are clear. READ MORE