(Bloomberg) -- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday, and was expected to urge more effort to protect civilians in its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The top US diplomat is on his third visit to Israel since militant group Hamas attacked the country on Oct. 7, killing some 1,400 people and taking scores hostage. He crisscrossed the region last month on a shuttle diplomacy mission aimed at preventing a widening of the conflict.
Biden Says Israel, Hamas Should ‘Pause' for Hostage Release
Hezbollah, another Islamist organization which like Hamas is backed by Iran and designated a terrorist group by the US, has escalated cross-border attacks on Israel from Lebanon in the north. Its leader is due to give a speech later Friday that may hold clues to further Middle East conflict.
Before departing Washington on Thursday, Blinken said that, while Israel has a right to defend itself, the US is focused on delivering humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza and bringing American citizens out of the territory. He spoke of the need to protect those caught in what he termed “a crossfire of Hamas's making.”
“When I see a Palestinian child, a boy or girl, pulled from the rubble of a collapsed building, that hits me in the gut, as much as seeing a child in Israel or anywhere else,” he said. “So this is something that we have an obligation to respond to, and we will.”
Free Hostages
US President Joe Biden said earlier this week Israel and Hamas ought to “pause” fighting to allow time to free hostages held in Gaza, but stopped short of supporting a full cease-fire.
Israeli ground operations in northern Gaza and Gaza City continued overnight, alongside intense ariel bombardment, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in an overnight update. It said there had been more than 9,000 fatalities reported since the start of hostilities, citing the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in Gaza.
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Referring to spillover from the conflict, Blinken said ahead of his trip that strikes by Iran-backed groups such as Hezbollah are “discrete attacks,” adding “we've responded as necessary,” including to protect US forces in the region.
Asked about plans for the aftermath of the war, Blinken said the immediate focus is on the ongoing fight, but “we do have to have conversations now about how we can best set the conditions for a durable, sustainable peace, durable, sustainable security for Israelis and Palestinians alike.”
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