Blinken accuses Hamas of resuming fighting

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on Friday blamed Hamas for the broken ceasefire and said he already saw signs that Israel had taken new steps to protect civilians as it resumed its military campaign.

Just before departing Dubai at the end of a two-day visit to the Middle East, Mr. Blinken said it was “important to understand why the pause ended: it ended because of Hamas. Hamas went back on the commitments it had made.”

Israel has also publicly blamed Hamas for the end of the temporary ceasefire, but Hamas has said Israeli airstrikes were to blame.

Mr. Blinken noted that hours before the start of the seven-day break, Hamas “committed a horrific terrorist attack in Jerusalem,” killing three people on Thursday. Israeli authorities said two Palestinian gunmen opened fire at a bus stop on the outskirts of Jerusalem in an attack that also wounded six others.

Mr Blinken added that Hamas also fired rockets into Israel on Friday and failed to free hostages it had promised to release.

He said Israel has taken steps to protect civilian life, including releasing public information about locations that would be largely spared from military attacks. During a visit to Israel on Thursday, Mr Blinken met with Israeli leaders and urged them to limit civilian casualties, protect critical infrastructure such as hospitals and power plants and continue the flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza in this next phase to ensure the war.

Mr Blinken spoke to reporters shortly after attending the COP28 climate summit in Dubai. On the sidelines of the session, he met colleagues from several Arab states, including Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan, as well as the Palestinian Authority. He said these discussions include “how we can move toward a just and lasting peace” and how we can move toward a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians.